Touching moment gardener releases bear cub he rescued and hand-reared for two years

This is the touching moment a gardener fights back tears as he hugs a bear cub he rescued and hand-reared as a pet for two years.

Gardener Patrarawuth Sompuen, 31, found the one-month-old injured Asian black bear abandoned by its mother in the jungle in Chonburi, Thailand, in November 2016.

He tenderly cared for the cub, which had been bitten hundreds of times by mosquitos and was suffering stomach problems.

Miraculously – and without any assistance from vets – Patrarawuth nursed the bear back to health, naming him Kuay-cheng, and hand-reared him for the next two years.

Patrarawuth reached out for help last month after finding that his home had become too small for his beloved companion.

Staff from Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation arrived on January 29 to relocate the bear to a wildlife sanctuary, where he'll be ''un-domesticated'' and later released back into the wild once his natural instincts return.

Footage shows the remarkable bond between Patrarawuthand and the bear.

Patrarawuth said: ''I will follow his progress at the sanctuary. Wherever he goes, I am sure he will always remember me.

''We have been best friends for two years. He always followed me to work and was known by all my colleagues.

''It breaks my heart to see him leave but I know this is best for both of us.''