Make a life by what we give

Text by Thong Wai Keen
​Photos by Seng Yen Wah

Dear all,
Hi, I am Thong Wai Keen from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I am a conservation biology student from the University of Malaysia Sabah. The reason I decided to volunteer in Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre is that I am convinced that a good center itself will be a great platform for a fresh graduate to learn and apply what I studied back in the University.

To some of us, volunteering may be something that allows us to earn a wonderful lifetime experience with the beautiful animals and spectacular nature. In my experience, I realised volunteering is simply giving and sharing what you have with those who are in need. It can be your time, your money or even your love to the mother nature. For me, volunteering is working on animal welfare with lots of patient and persistence are needed.

I served in two roles as part of my work with the volunteering program. Taking good care of the bears and their welfare is one of our major works. I assisted the staff in cleaning cages, preparing food, feeding, fence training and making bear enrichment. I learned to treat the bears with extra care and respect. It's amazing to see the bears eat well and growing healthy in a clean environment.  

I am helping on fence training for Dodop and Wawa.

Time for making bear enrichment!

Time for making bear enrichment!

Time for making bear enrichment!

Time for making bear enrichment!

I was also educating the visitors by conveying the information about sun bears to them on the platform. It's a natural role for me as I really love to share my knowledge with people and it's really satisfying to see the visitors so interested in the fun facts about sun bears. After all, making visitors to understand and share with the world that sun bear does not belong to us, the zoo, the center but the forest is what matters the most. I believe the power of education can create a stronger sense of conservation within people to share an awareness to save our wildlife and our planet.

Last but not least, I would like to express my utmost gratitude to Dr. Wong Siew Te, the founder of Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC), the Sabah Wildlife Department, Land Empowerment Animal and People (LEAP), Sime Darby and all the BSBCC staff for working so hard to save sun bears and dedicated to release all of them back into the wild. Thank you!
​
Best,
Thong Wai Keen

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES - ORANGUTAN AWARENESS WEEK 2016

The Sabah Wildlife Department organized, the Orangutan Awareness Week on the 12th-13th November 2016 at Sepilok, Sandakan, Sabah. There were 600 students from more than 10 schools in Sandakan district participated in this event. There were a lot of activities, held during this two days event including exhibitions, talks and workshops by partners in conservation including BSBCC, WWF, Wildlife Rescue Unit, Borneo Bird Club, Borneo Conservation Trust, HUTAN-KOCP and also representatives from the local tour operators.

Visitors to our booth learning about sun bears from our staff.

Talk on sun bears and BSBCC by Mr. Jeremy, BSBCC’s Centre Coordinator.

The orangutans are now a Critically Endangered species according to the IUCN Redlist of Threatened Species. This event aims to raise awareness among the public about the orangutans that are facing threats from hunting and habitat destructions. Both the orangutans and sun bears share the same habitat and they are a forest dependent species. Through this event, the public awareness on the importance of protecting the environment can be increased and the members of the public were indirectly involved and supporting our conservation work. Thank you to Sabah Wildlife Department for inviting us to participate in this event.

Mr. Augustine Tuuga, Director of the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) during the VIP visit to BSBCC booth.

After the 30 days

Text and Photos by Seng Yen Wah

Hooray! After 30 days, finally Noah finished quarantine. Noah is a 6 months old male bear cub. He was found in a villager’s orchard in Nabawan, a southern part of Sabah. After she realized Noah is a sun bear, a totally protected species in Sabah, she decided to surrender Noah to the Sabah Wildlife Department. And, this is the story how Noah came to BSBCC.

He grown up so much compared to the day he first arrived! His body weight now is 12.70kg. He has started to eat solid food and his favorite foods are banana, papaya and of course Milk!

Noah is an energetic and playful bear. He is much enjoying his time playing especially with his bear care keeper. A bear cub is ideally attached to his/her mother until it two to three years old. But, now Noah is alone being just six months old. A mother will never abandon her own child. The only reason for the mother to be with her cubs would that she had been killed most likely by poachers. And make no mistake, poaching is still happening around us. So, please said No to poaching sun bears, instead help us save them. A bear cub needs a mother. A mother raises her child with lots of love and teaches her baby how to survive in the wild. Separation of mother and cub is unforgivable for any reason. The poachers deprive a bear cub almost everything, their mother and their natural habitat.

Our bear care keepers spend their time with Noah and try to give Noah as much love as possible even though they know their love cannot compare with that given by his mother. So now, Noah likes to play fight with bear care keepers. He likes to take a challenge and never gives up. Bear care keepers are taking a huge responsible to take good care of him and teach him the skills that he could survive in the wild such as defense skill. Noah likes water very much. He likes to cool his body down by lying on the ground just like he is ‘swimming’ but on the ground.

In order to let Noah closer to the forest and more space for him to explore, in the morning he can go out to exercise pen. The exercise pen is near to the forest, so Noah can smell the forest. Within the exercise pen, there are different kinds of enrichment ready for him such as hammocks, dry leaves, decayed wood, fire hoses, honey combs and so on. Therefore, Noah likes to spend his time digging the decayed wood, playing with the tree leaves.

At last, we hope Noah has all the courage and left his unhappy early life behind here at the BSBCC. And, we really hope Noah will back to his real home, the forest - sooner or later.