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Video by Chiew Lin May "Time is running out! The next ten years will be crucial. If we fail, a lot of species will become extinct." - Dr. Wong Siew Te (Founder & CEO BSBCC) The sun bears is the world's smallest bear species. They can be found in the tropical rainforest of Southeast Asia. Major threats from poaching, illegal pet trade and deforestation are pushing sun bears to extinction. If no action is taken, the remaining population will be wiped out soon. Please keep the fight to save the species against the threat of extinction!
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Text by Chiew Lin May Photos by BSBCC & Chiew Lin May I was still an infant when I arrived at the local mini zoo in 2008. I was found in Tawau district of Sabah and was later sent to Kudat district, in the northern part of Sabah. My friend and I were displayed in a mini zoo as panda bears, but instead we are Bornean Sun Bears. The reason behind this was to attract visitors or inexperienced animal managers, who apparently did not have the knowledge or skills to care for the animals that they received, which could be why we were mistaken as species we are not. We were fed with chicken daily which led us to have bigger body sizes compared to other sun bears our age. My suffering ended when I was rescued by Sabah Wildlife Department on the 6th of July 2010, and was brought to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) on the 10th of July, 2010. During the arrival, no external wounds were found on me, except my friend, Kudat showed his fur coat had multiple alopecic patches. We were both placed into Quarantine. On the 8th of August 2010, after I completed my 30 day quarantine period, I was growing well and I was then a ten year old, adult female sun bear. I have beautiful mauve-coloured eyes. I started to enjoy the delights on offer in this new environment. Rescued sun bears at BSBCC are given a second chance to live freely in the BSBCC forest - free to explore, forage, climb and play as wild sun bears. On the 20th of December 2013, I was undergoing fence training, which is one of the BSBCC’s rehabilitation processes that is before the bears can go out to the forest enclosure. This stage is very important because the BSBCC forest enclosures are surrounded by electric fences that prevent the bears from escaping. However, up until now this fence training had not worked with me due to the fact that I still bared the scars from years of trauma after being locked up in a cage for entertainment purposes. The bear care staff never gave up on me by trying to introduce me with new bear friends (Natalie, Ah Lun, Julaini and Rungus), to help improve my social and survival skills, and gain trust towards these rehabilitation processes. It would take time for me to learn to trust the outside forest world. On May 20th 2014, I had a traumatic injury on the rostral area due to an aggressive bite from a male, adult bear in the neighbouring cage. Thank you to Veterinarian, Dr. Laura who helped me by reconstructing suture of the tissue on my rostral area. The bear staff kept a close watch on me and took care of my diet. Slowly, my snout improved. On the 1st of July 2015, I was moved to another cage near Amaco (the oldest bear). I loved having these new dens to explore. I loved splashing in the water and taking lots of baths in the dens. BSBCC provide the best care for all the rescued sun bears in our Centre, different enrichment activities are given by bear care staff in order to stimulate our natural behaviour and keep us occupied. I am a big foodie and enjoy the bear’s main diet of fruit, coconut and HONEY! I am very inquisitive and am always quick to come whenever there are YUMMY treats. There are different types of climbing structures and I take great joy in climbing them. I love the opportunity to play with a number of toys. I will figure out a toy by tapping on them with my superb sharp-curved, long claws and by checking them carefully. We love volunteers designing comfy bed for us!! It brightens our day! My best friend is Amaco who is a male bear. The integration has really enriched my life. Most important is that I am the first play pal for him. I am very sweet towards him so we love playing together. We are playing and wrestling non-stop. We share a very close bond and can be seen hanging out together. However, I am sorry that I do not get along well with Chin, as sometimes she will get feisty if I wrestle with her which will end up in small brawls during play fights. This year something has changed my life! With the help from our lovely volunteer, Khairunnisa Faisal and keeper, Adrian. Here I started to put my past behind me and recover from my traumatic years in captivity. A huge smile crossed my face as I received the life that I deserve!! I was finally brave enough to take my first step out to the forest after five years of training. I love to explore the grassy forest enclosure, forage for my favourite termites and rest in the hammock. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to try learning as a wild bear! BSBCC are delighted I have been able to let go of the previous trauma in my life. I have overcome my fear and feel completely at home! Sun bears are classified as a Totally Protected Species under the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment, 1997. Please STOP keeping sun bears as pets! We DO NOT belong inside cages. Years of being kept as illegal pets have left many of us suffering from long term disabilities and physiological trauma. It requires considerable time and expense to restore the wild behaviour to us that have been victims of the illegal wildlife pet trade. If you care about us, you would not want to be left out of the fight for our survival. Please be our voice! Photos by APE Malaysia Curious. Explore. Love. Brighten their day! Hammock Amok Project in Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Center, Hanoi, Vietnam! Enrichment improves the quality of life of animals in captivity, by promoting natural behaviours and instincts. There was also great progress made with this Hammock Amok Project. Together with APE Malaysia and Air Asia Foundation, they work tirelessly to provide the most stimulating enrichment for the animal’s well-being and provide the best care. Needless to say, the animals are very thankful for their special treat! Million thanks to APE Malaysia for giving BSBCC this opportunity to join this Hammock Amok Project. It was a fantastic experience! Finally a ray HOPE for sun bear!! The 2nd International Symposium on Sun Bear Conservation & Management is held from 25th to 26th September 2019 that saw over 80 delegates from different range countries consisted of government, NGOs, industry representatives,conservation managers and field researchers joining together in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The symposium was hosted by Sabah Wildlife Department, Danau Girang Field Centre and Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. Thank you to everyone who presented, attended and helped out to make this symposium a resounding success with the ultimate goal to implement Global Status Review and Sun Bear Conservation Action Plan 2019-2029 and ensure that sun bears would be protected against extinction.  Members of the Technical Working Group on Sun Bear Action Plan for Sabah (Copyright: DGFC). KOTA KINABALU: International and local scientists, government officers as well as NGO players convened for the past two days at a local hotel here to identify major recommendations for the conservation of the Malayan sun bear in Sabah. These will be included in a State Action Plan, just a few months after three other plans, for the proboscis monkey, the Sunda clouded leopard and the Bornean banteng, were approved by the State Cabinet. For the next two days, Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD), the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) and Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) are jointly organizing the 2nd International Symposium on Sun Bear Conservation and Management.  A wild sun bear in a protected area in Sabah (Copyright: DGFC). Experts from the region will present updates on sun bear population status in the different species range countries such as Cambodia, India, Indonesia (Sumatra and Kalimantan), Lao, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam and West Malaysia, said Dr Wong Siew Te, CEO of BSBCC. “Several open forums will present the opportunity to discuss some critical issues on sun bear conservation such as poaching and trade; sun bear release, translocation and monitoring; sun bear captive breeding; implementation of Global Status Review and Sun Bear Conservation Action Plan; and ex-situ research prioritization,”he said.  Wild sun bear sustaining injuries to a snare in Danum Valley (Copyright: BSBCC). “On the second day of the symposium, we will present to the different stakeholders the several recommendations we plan to include in a Sun Bear Action Plan for Sabah.” ProfessorBenoit Goossens, DGFC director said they hoped to come up with a long-term vision for the future of the sun bears in the wild in Sabah. “Uncontrolled hunting of sun bears for Traditional Chinese Medicine, pet trade and habitat loss and fragmentation are considered to be the major threats to the survival of the sun bear in Sabah,” added Professor Goossens.  Carcass of a sun bear poached in the Kinabatangan. “It is therefore critical to increase effectiveness of enforcement on the ground, improve the intelligence of the different government departments, and establish connectivity between sun bear populations in the state.” For the past year, the Sabah Wildlife Department has worked with its partners to produce conservation action plans for most of the Schedule 1’s (Totally Protected) terrestrial species. Last May, the State Cabinet adopted the proboscis monkey, Sunda clouded leopard and Bornean banteng action plans 2019-2028.  Sun bear gallbladder sold in Gaya Street, Kota Kinabalu. A sun bear was killed in order to retrieve this gallbladder (Copyright: Wong Siew Te/BSBCC). The Elephant Action Plan and Orangutan Action Plan 2020-2029 are being finalized, and focus is now on producing the Sun Bear Action Plan 2020-2029. “It is crucial that those three new plans are adopted and implemented by the Sabah state government as they are backed by scientific research and expert opinions as well as input from industry leaders and several government departments,” added Professor Goossens.  Wild sun bear that was snared in Maliau Basin and venturing at the research centre. The animal was rescued by Wildlife Rescue Centre, treated and released back in Maliau (Copyright: Diana Ramirez/WRU). The Technical Working Group Meeting on the Sun Bear Action Plan and the 2nd International Symposium on Sun Bear Conservation and Management were funded by BSBCC and DGFC. The organizations that contributed to the two-day technical working group meeting on the sun bear action plan were Sabah Wildlife Department, Sabah Forestry Department, Sabah Foundation, Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, Danau Girang Field Centre, WWF Malaysia, TRAFFIC, Animals Asia, Free the Bears and Sunway University. Sabah Sun Bear Action Plan Technical Working Group Meeting is happening now! The sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) is the smallest bear species in the world and is threatened by hunting, pet trade and habitat loss. Sun bear is currently classified at “Vulnerable” on IUCN’s Red List and listed as a Totally Protected species in Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997. This meeting is to discuss and develop a 10 years action plan to ensure the long term survival of the sun bears. Lets working together to save sun bears! Stay tuned for more updates! Video by Chiew Lin May Meet the magnificent animals on earth...Sun bears! Illegal hunting and pet trade has directly affected the sun bear population numbers. The time to act is now! Please help to save the sun bears from extinction. Visit www.bsbcc.org.my for all the latest news and find out more about how we are working to protect sun bears. Video By Chiew Lin May "Only we understand, can we care. Only if we care, we will help. Only if we help, we shall be saved." - Jane Goodall Poaching and illegal pet trade have brought sun bears and other wildlife to the brink of extinction. Let's work together to protect them from extinction! Video by Chiew Lin May "When the buying stops, the killing will stop too!" Orphaned sun bear cubs have been taken from the wild for the illegal pet trade. They had been kept confined in a cage alone for a long period of time and loss their wild instinct. Please STOP kept or buys sun bear! Please report suspicious activity, be sure to REPORT illegal trade in bear part to: Wildlife Crime Hotline | Hotline Hidupan Liar | 野生物罪案热线 : +60 19 356 4194 Video by Chiew Lin May Without the BSBCC, many captive sun bears would still live in small cages without HOPE; Without the BSBCC many people in the world still would not know there are a bear species called the sun bear - Dr. Wong Siew Te Please respect, protect and give sun bear a voice they deserve! |
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