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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.
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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 By Chiew Lin May Are sun bears threatened? Their existence is being fast disappearing who threatened by illegal poaching, pet trade and loss of habitat! Please do something about it! Text by Seng Yen Wah Photos by Chiew Lin May & Seng Yen Wah  Romolina has just finished her 30 day submission to quarantine! She is settling in well at BSBCC. A full body check-up has been conducted by Dr.Nabila Sarkawi who is a veterinarian from Sabah Wildlife Department. Based on the growth condition of her teeth, we found out she is an estimated age of six months instead of four months old. This is because some of her current teeth which have grown through recently, are now permanent and her adult teeth. Romolina was found alone in the forest before being kept as a pet at Romol Village, Sapulut, in the interior division of Sabah, where she lived her life in a small cage. She was rescued by Bob Hartley and Virgil Joon Gunting, who had found out that a villager was keeping Romolina as a pet. They intended to rescue her so they negotiated with the villager who agreed to hand the young cub over to them. The villager said that he/she had kept Romolina for a duration of roughly three months and fed her sausages, porridge and fruits. The improper diet caused Romolina to have a smaller body size. Now that she is being fed a proper, nutritious diet in the care of BSBCC and she now weighs 8.8kg.     Romolina seems to be attached to humans. When the caretakers are not around, she will suckle and vocalize to seek comfort and safety. Romolina had lost her mother bear, therefore we now have keepers as her surrogate mother. What can the surrogate mother do? Keepers will spend time and play fight with her. Play fighting could teach her how to defend herself. Defence skills is one of the most important survival skills for the bear’s natural rainforest habitats, which can protect themselves from predators. Besides the companionship from the keepers, Romalina has also been introduced to many types of enrichments to use throughout her days. Enrichment is a common name for the bears TOYs which can stimulate the action of natural behaviours that we would observe in non-captive Sunbears. Romolina is having different enrichments from day to day! But, her favourite toy is the warm, soft and comfy towel! Romolina is a detailed explorer. She will spend a lot of time exploring the enrichments made for her. Thanks to the care taker, Jeniur who made her a circle platform. She loves to sleep up there. Before sleeping Romalina will adjust and fidget until she finds the perfect spot to fall asleep and snooze like a baby!            Romolina is a curious bear who explores her environment through continuous sniffing. She loves milk and also loves to keep the milk on her body, by soaking her body in the milk tray. But she does not enjoy her body being too wet and fur remaining damp. Romolina is a good climber. She always climbs up and down to search and explore her environment. She is always very observant to her current surroundings and will keep checking and watching events that happen around her.   Romolina has lacked a mother’s love since young age, which makes her feel insecure. The way to help her is integrating her with other bears; making a bear friend can allow them to learn from each other and spend time together. The best enrichment of a bear is another bear! We are looking forward to the integration between her and her bear friend Logan, and hope they will get along well. The cute and lovely friendship is already starting to form between these two little bears. Please stay tuned for the updates to the start of this wonderful friendship! With the help of her friend Logan, the care of keepers and the love from you all, we hope Romolina will grow to into a real bear!   Text and Photos by Chiew Lin May  Little Romolina is a six months old female sun bear cub who was kept in a small cage as a house pet at Kampung Romol, Sapulut, Sabah.  The owner claimed that they found the cub alone in the forest and he had kept her in his house. We believed that Romolina’s mom was killed in order to take the cub from the forest. Bob Hartley and Virgil Joon Gunting got knowledge about this cub and quickly helped save her from the villager by negotiating with him to hand over the cub. She was immediately handed over to the Sabah Wildlife Department then sent to BSBCC and placed into quarantine on the same day on July 7th, 2018. During the arrival, she was tiny and weighed 5.95 kg. She was suffering from severe malnutrition. The owner fed Romolina rice, cereals, sausages, fruits and no milk was given to her. She was also being confined in a small cage which restricted her growth. The name “Romolina” was given by the person who rescued her. She was named after the Romol village where she was rescued from. Romolina is the youngest female sun bear cub at BSBCC. She is kept under close observation around the clock by bear care staff in quarantine.  She was subsequently found to be malnourished and showed signs of stunted growth. Consequently, her claws and teeth appeared too big for her tiny body as a result from an unbalanced diet. Little by little she has grown to know that she is in a safe place. She adapted really well to her new environment.  During these two weeks she has gained more weight. She has a good appetite but is choosy in accepting a diet of fruits and vegetables. She loves watermelon and Honey!  Little Romolina enjoys playing with enrichment toys.  The enrichment plays a vital role in encouraging Little Romolina – to be a sun bear again! She gets really curious and stands on both her hind legs then gets excited about it! Romolina will use her long sharp claws to tear and destroy the enrichment. She always shows curiosity in new toys and treats where she will learn to dig, climb and destroy the enrichment!        She learns climbing too. She will climb up to the basket or sleeping platform or when there are treats around. As a sun bear cub she will spends most of the day sleeping on the ground or hammock platform.       She is just enjoying her new found second chance of freedom.  Poor Romolina had been kept confined in a cage alone for a long period. It can be seen that she has a habit of sucking her front left paw or rubbing her back near care takers, and she vocalizes to seek comfort and safety. She shows more attachment to humans and appears tame. She needs special care and attention. She should still be with her mother learning how to survive in the forest.  Slowly, Romolina will learn to trust the new environment and put her past behind her. It was truly a blessing when watching Romolina grow more confident and healthy. Please speak up against the illegal pet trade and protect them from extinction! Text by Yvonne Chong Yee Wen Photos by Yvonne Chong Yee Wen, Chiew Lin May & Seng Yen Wah The Bornean Sun Bear is scientifically known as Helarctos Malayanus. It is the smallest species of bear found in the tropical forest habitats of Southeast Asia. Characteristics of sun bears include its long tongue (which is used to extract honey and insects) and a chest marking, unique to every sun bear. Sun bears are opportunistic omnivores that feed mainly on termites, insects, larvae and a large variety of fruit species. Sun bears have several different roles within the forest, which provide many benefits to tropical ecosystems. Sun bears are now facing the threats of commercial hunting and poaching, habitat loss, and being illegally kept as a pet. They belong in the wild. Please spread the word and protect the sun bear! < 婆羅洲之子 —— 馬來熊 > 婆羅洲馬來熊（Bornean Sun Bear），又名太陽熊，也叫狗熊，學名為Helarctos Malayanus，屬哺乳熊科，它是全世界8種熊科動物中體型最小的熊類。馬來熊是依賴森林生存的物種，它們棲息和活動於東南亞地區的熱帶雨林，主要分佈於馬來西亞、越南、印尼、柬埔寨、泰國、緬甸、遼國、中國南部與印度東部等。 馬來熊的特征 馬來熊的身長約120至150公分，雄性的熊體重可達30至60公斤左右，而雌性的體重是20至40公斤。它們尾巴的長度約5公分，耳朵小而圓，毛髮短，呈深棕色抑或黑色，而鼻子色澤通常為灰至橙色。此外，馬來熊還擁有約30公分之長的舌頭，而如此長的舌頭的主要功能是讓它們舔食蜂巢裡的蜂蜜，以及其他的小昆蟲，如：白蟻、球狀馬陸和其他幼蟲等。 它們的四肢短，向內彎，行走時呈內八型；掌心粉紅色，無毛且柔軟，就像人類的掌心一樣，這能夠讓它們在森林地面安靜地行走。被稱之為爬樹高手的馬來熊，爪子呈鐮刀狀，長而銳利，這能夠使它們穩固地抓牢樹木；此外，尖銳的爪子也是它們用作挖掘和撕開朽木來尋找食物，如：白蟻、昆蟲的覓食主要工具。 除此之外，每一隻馬來熊最為顯著的特征就是它們胸前的胸斑（Chest Mark），每一隻熊的胸斑皆有不同的色澤，大部分為乳白色或橙色，並含斑點。因此，馬來熊最為獨特的特點是每一隻熊都擁有它們獨一無二的胸斑，這猶如人類的指紋，獨一無二，也是個人的記號，儘管是雙胞胎的馬來熊也絕對不會出現相同胸斑的情況。 馬來熊的自衛方法 馬來熊的聽覺與嗅覺特別靈敏，當它們感受到有威脅時，會用後腿站立，這是一種向對方發出警告和自衛的舉動；馬來熊又叫做狗熊，這是因為它吠聲如狗，當它們感受到威脅或不高興時，會發出像狗吠般的咆哮怒吼聲。 對於每一隻野生動物而言，自我防衛與保護是一件非常重要的事情，與其他的熊類如大熊貓相比，馬來熊的動作較為靈敏和快速。 馬來熊的爪子和尖銳的犬齒是它們最好的自我保護工具。它們的頸部有一圈非常厚而鬆弛的皮膚，這能夠使它們在打架時、被其他動物攻擊時或被獵人徒手抓住時，能夠及時扯起鬆弛的皮膚，鬆開和及時逃走，抑或反咬對方；而鋒利的爪子能幫助它迅速地爬上樹上閃避攻擊。 馬來熊繁殖習性與成長過程 馬來熊並沒有固定的交配季節，雌熊平均懷孕期為96天左右，大部分一胎只產一隻幼崽，生產雙胞胎或多隻的情況是極少的。在野外生活的雌熊通常會尋找大樹洞或已空心的大木頭為它繁殖的窩；剛出世的幼崽體型是非常小的，無毛、無牙，甚至是無視覺與嗅覺的，但胸前的胸斑卻清晰可見。 幼熊需要花上2、3年的時間從母熊身上學習生活技能，如：覓食、爬樹、如何自衛等。因此，在幼熊還未學成前必須依賴母熊的照顧才能生存，它們需要母熊餵食和保護。 而邁入成熟期的熊，它們會開始離開母熊獨立生活，並建立起自己的家園。雄性的馬來熊在森林的活動範圍約15平方公里，而雌性的馬來熊活動範圍是5平方公里。當馬來熊進入性成熟期時，就會在交配期間尋找交配對象，其餘時間都是獨立生活，爬樹、覓食和築巢。 其實馬來熊壽命頗長，但由於在野外生活的它們必須面對與其他熊隻或其他動物的競爭、自然和人為的災害（各種天災、獵人的捕殺、森林被砍伐與發展）、食源短缺等的影響，它們存活的幾率和壽命便會大大減低。 馬來熊的食性  馬來熊屬雜食性動物 一般人會認為熊類是肉食動物，但其實馬來熊是雜食性的。它們主要的食物包含了：水果、昆蟲、蜂蜜、無脊椎動物等。 在野外，水果成了馬來熊的主食之一，如：野生榴蓮、香蕉、椰子、紅毛丹、蓮心果（Langsat）、香波羅（Tarap）等。但其實以上大部分的水果皆屬季節性的，因此常年結果的無花果便扮演了重要的角色，也成了馬來熊主要食物之一。  椰子是馬來熊喜愛的水果之一 在馬來文裡，馬來熊名為Beruang Madu，Beruang是熊的意思，而Madu意為蜜糖。它之所以被稱之為「蜜糖熊」是因為它非常喜歡吃蜂蜜。因此，它們會利用它們敏銳的嗅覺尋找蜂巢所在地，再用尖銳有力的爪和非常長的舌頭將蜂蜜挖舔出來享用。 馬來熊的主食也包括無脊椎動物。無脊椎動物指的是白蟻、蜈蚣、馬陸蟲（球狀馬陸、扁背馬陸）、幼蟲等。在非水果季節的時候，馬來熊就會把大部分的時間用於尋找這些無脊椎動物來充飢。  球狀馬陸  白蟻 馬來熊的角色 馬來熊體型雖小，但卻在森林裡扮演了非常重要的角色： （壹）種子播遷者 在野外，馬來熊會食取各式各樣的果實，如：野生榴蓮、紅毛丹、無花果等，在食取的過程中，它們會把果實的種子也一併吞下，而那些未經消化的種子會通過它們排洩糞便的時候排除體外，這樣的過程稱之為「種子播遷」，這樣能夠使種子遠離母樹，並能夠減少和降低種子與母樹之間的生長競爭，大大提高種子生存的幾率。 因此，馬來熊扮演了提升各種樹木生長率的重要角色。 （貳）森林工程師 擁有堅固鋒利爪子的馬來熊是非常出色的爬樹高手。馬來熊攀爬上樹的原因除了為了築巢、休息和曬日光浴以外，便是要尋找蜂巢，以獲得它們最愛的食物——蜂蜜；它們會利用它們強壯尖銳的爪子和犬齒來拔開樹幹和挖掘蜂巢。  馬來熊會利用它們強壯尖銳的爪子和犬齒來拔開樹幹和挖掘蜂巢以取得甜美可口的蜂蜜 當熊把樹上的蜂巢都挖空了之後，便會形成一個空穴，而這些空穴便成了給其他動物，如：犀鳥、飛鼠等築巢与栖息的地方。 （叁）森林醫生 白蟻是一種會覓食於朽木或健康的樹木的昆蟲，而有些白蟻會在樹上築巢，因此會逐漸腐蝕和破壞它們所寄住的那棵樹，進而導致樹木死亡。 白蟻也是馬來熊喜愛的食物之一，當它們尋找到白蟻窩時，它們會使用長長的舌頭和爪子破壞白蟻窩以取食。馬來熊通過食取白蟻的這個習性有效地控制白蟻族群的數量，為森林的健康做出了一份保障與貢獻。 （肆）森林農夫 除了水果和蜂蜜以外，馬來熊還喜好吃無脊椎動物，例如：蚯蚓、幼蟲、扁背馬陸、球狀馬陸等。馬來熊會翻動和挖掘泥土以尋找這些食物，而這樣的過程能夠將貧瘠的土壤和營養豐富的養分混合在一起，促進了森林裡的養分循環。 馬來熊的厄運 （壹）家園慘遭破壞  當馬來熊的家園遭到嚴重破壞時，它們該如何生存？ 您曾設想過倘若一天森林消失了，我們將會面對什麼問題？對動物們又會造成什麼樣的影響？森林是所有野外動物，包括馬來熊的家園，因此當森林被肆意砍伐和破壞時，許多動物就會失去家園。 然而，如今大部分的森林已被過度伐木和發展農業活動，如：油棕園、橡膠園等給取代了；如此過度的發展其實已經嚴重影響和破壞了馬來熊的棲息地。如果無法阻止森林過度發展和砍伐的浩劫，馬來熊將會面臨絕種的危機。 （貳）盜獵活動盛行 您可知道在婆羅洲獵殺或盜獵馬來熊已經被列為非法的活動？ 在1997年沙巴野生動物保護憲法之下，馬來熊已屬「完全受保護」品種（Totally Protected Species），凡觸法者，即盜獵、獵殺、販賣、飼養以及擁有有關馬來熊產製品的人將會面臨10萬馬幣罰款或被判10年徒刑，或兩者兼施。 但不幸的是，儘管馬來熊已得到憲法的保護，但獵殺馬來熊的活動卻依舊盛行至今。他們捕殺馬來熊絕大部分是為了取得它那能被製成傳統藥物，俗稱能醫百病的熊膽與膽汁；而為了獲取被稱之為尚品佳餚的熊掌也是他們捕殺馬來熊的主要原因之一。  大部分獵人會為了取得熊掌而對它們狠下毒手 不僅如此，儘管社會文明已在逐步進步與發展，但對於婆羅洲部分的原住民而言，馬來熊的肉仍是他們傳統的食物之一，其爪子、犬齒以及皮毛等更被當成裝飾品。因此，至今馬來熊仍然難逃非法獵殺的厄運！  現今仍然有部分的原住民會非法獵取馬來熊的犬齒以當做他們傳統的裝飾品 （叁）被當寵物飼養   馬來熊長得和狗非常相似 由於馬來幼熊長得十分可愛，和幼犬長得非常相似，因此很多人會把它們當做寵物來飼養。但您可有想過，馬來熊真的適合被當做寵物飼養嗎？ 儘管馬來熊是熊科裡體型最小的熊類，但它的力氣、尖銳的牙齒和爪子可是不容忽視的！當幼熊成年後，它將會成為具有攻擊性的馬來熊。許多飼養馬來熊的飼主常常會認為年長的馬來熊具有危險性，會給他們帶來威脅，因此會把它們常年關在鐵籠子裡，甚至會使用非常粗重的鐵鏈套在它們的頸項，以防止它們攻擊自己。 但馬來熊真的適合被飼養在籠子裡嗎？  許多馬來熊被當成寵物飼養，導致它們過著不適當的生活 被當做寵物來飼養的馬來熊，一般都被困在狹窄的鐵籠子裡生活，總日活在恐懼不安與不健康的環境當中，並且會被餵食不適當的食物，從而造成它們營養不良的情況，嚴重影響發育與健康狀況。 一般的獵人在野外捕捉幼熊作為寵物時，他們就必須先把母熊給射殺。在森林裡，幼熊其實需要花上2、3年的時間從母熊身上學習生活技能，可是獵人把它們從母熊身邊帶離當做寵物飼養時，幼熊就失去向母熊學習的機會，導致不能獨立生活。而且絕大多數的人並不了解馬來熊的習性，因此在這樣的因素下，在不恰當的飼養方式中生活的馬來熊，都過著糟糕的生活，也就是說，它們沒有能力在野外森林裡生存，無法做隻真正的馬來熊了！ 請記住，森林才是馬來熊的家，而不是那個冷冰無情的銅鐵籠子！  總日被關在狹小的籠子裡度日的馬來熊，如何還有快樂可言？  請記住，森林才是馬來熊的家！ Text by Chiew Lin May Photos by Seng Yen Wah and Chiew Lin May Seven years ago, a two month old sun bear cub was found by a villager’s hunting dog in a remote forest area of Long Pasia, in the Sipitang district of Sabah. He was found injured and Nooh, the owner, decided to take care of him until he recovered. Nooh named the sun bear cub as “Fulung” which means forest in native Lundayeh language. Nooh had decided to return Fulung back to the forest but due to the poaching concern happening in the forest he decided to keep Fulung as a pet for the time being. Until August 2011, where Nooh found out he could give him a better life. He decided to surrender Fulung to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) when Fulung was nine months old. Fulung arrived at BSBCC on 15th of August, 2011. During his arrival, it was found that Fulung was malnourished and had a scratch mark on his forehead, which is believed to be caused by rubbing it on a cage bar. The initial health checks showed him in good health and body condition, weighing 9.4kg. During Fulung's placement in quarantine, he started to show signs of self-trauma due to finding it difficult adjusting to new experiences. This result was from being kept as a pet which caused him to scratch his abdomen until the wound was infected. This made him leave a dry scar wound on his abdomen area. Besides the wound, you could hear Fulung would growl and bawl loudly. Sun bear cubs will growl long and loud when they are separated from their mom. That was the problem with Fulung who had been kept in captivity with close human contact for long periods, which resulted in him requiring a great need of comfort. To avoid this happening, we provided the best care for Fulung, different enrichment activities were given in order to stimulate and encourage his natural behavior. A proper diet comprises of protein and fruit, medical treatment and great treats which have brought an improvement on Fulung. We could see that he was happily munching, destroying and exploring everything. He started to adapt and would smell, taste, play and paw things. Fulung is a very cleaver, young male sun bear and checks out his enrichment. Luckily, Fulung continues to improve day by day. He is settling in well in the new environment. Moreover, other orphaned sun bears may help Fulung to learn the vital survival skills that he will need in the wild. So, BSBCC made a decision that Fulung needed to have a sun bear companion. On October 27th, 2011 he was introduced to the first ever bear friend, Mary. For the last seven years, Fulung has known how to charm his way around the females in his group. He has grown up with other orphaned bears. During the bear integration, they were incredibly playful in friendly greeting ways and no aggression happened beforehand. Bongkud, Mary, Debbie, Ah Bui, Ah Lun, Rungus, Julaini, Montom and Natalie are Fulung’s play bear friends. He loves to make new friends where he becomes the loved and admired mischievous bear!  Magical! On June 11th, 2013 he took his biggest step and got to enjoy the sunshine with tall trees where he should belong! Once the door opened, he quickly went out to explore! He was checking every meter of his new forest environment. Fulung first dug up the dead log to get his favourite termites. Over the years, Fulung proved to us that he will be one of the most confident and lovely bears in the centre. Fulung is best known for loving to stand on his hind legs to get a better smell or look. He will keep busy. He spends his day roaming around the free range enclosure, foraging up invertebrates and favourite food  basking in the sun, taking a nap and loves climbing up high above the trees. Fulung is an expert climber and will show how well he can climb to the top with rediscovering his natural behaviour! He is anything and has become a much loved member of the sun bear family. They are full of enthusiasm and energy! They will keep learning to be wild bears and have fun everyday!  He always captures the hearts of people with his enthusiasm in loving nature.   This is very impressive when observing him slowly grow use to his new environment and learning as a wild bear. He slowly realizes the special bear he is and there is nothing to fear out there. Fulung is doing exactly what they should do in the forest!!  Remember that we are not their mother. This is a very pathetic story for keeping a sun bear as a pet only will make the sun bear not know the world beyond the cage bars and they will lose the survival skills that they need to learn in the wild.  But thanks to the ongoing care and support we can give Fulung a second chance to live the happy, safe and healthy life he deserves. One of the things we LOVE about the smallest bears is simply that they make you smile.  Text by Chiew Lin May Photos by Seng Yen Wah & Chiew Lin May The sad part of each rescued orphan sun bear that arrive at Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) is that they come from having lived through a bitter past. As sun bears grow into fully grown adult, they become dangerous and difficult to handle which will end up their lives in a tiny cage or seeking out sun bear rehabilitation centre to take their sun bear pet in. This is what happens to our recently rescued a three years old sub adult female bear, Soo (Rescued bear No.56). It was so shock when we received a video showing that the person was playing with this bear (who is fully grown bear). She was purchased from Karamatoi village in Sook Keningau market when she was still cub and kept as a pet by a family in Nambayan village in Tambunan, located in the interior Division of Sabah for almost three years. She was rescued by Sabah Wildlife Department and she arrives at BSBCC on 8th September 2017. Soo was fed with rice, cucumber and milk. Undoubtedly her mother had been killed; she is sold illegally throughout Borneo and kept in private home. Sadly many of these orphaned sun bears will never fully learn their natural way of life and lose their ability to survive in the wild. During the arrival, Soo shows a sorrow face and traumatized. This made her keep alert. She must have been going through traumatizing experience for her. You can feel how this disgusting the pet trade is! Often these rescued sun bears take a long recovery road from the trauma of losing their mom in such a horrific way. They often suffer from physically health issues, malnutrition and poor treatment during her pet trade time. Luckily for Soo, the Sabah Wildlife Department rescued her and she has been given second chance to survive as a wild bear. She has to go through a quarantine process for 30 days to determine her health status. On 10th September 2017 she received a health check. Dr. Pakeeyaraj Nagalinggam from Wildlife Rescue Unit, Sabah Wildlife Department performed a general health check. These include an assessment of her overall health, function of the internal organs and physical condition and potential sickness. Her weighs was 25.70kg.The blood tests result has shown she is in good health and bright bear. At the BSBCC, Soo will receive intensive care. The most important first step is to make sure Soo is settled in this new environment. Till now she still avoids to explore new surroundings. Soo was introducing to new correct diet and enrichment to ensure she is growing healthy. But Soo only will explore the enrichment and treats on night time where the surrounding area was quiet. She will quickly move away after detecting our presence. Soo spent the majority of her time and feel safe by staying high up on cage. She is now an orphan and needs much love and care to grow into a trust and confident beautiful sun bear. We are delighted to welcome Soo to our sun bear family! Soo has a long journey ahead of her in going through rehabilitation until she returns to the wild again. It is illegal to keep sun bears as pets! Please remember the consequences of keeping one as a pet and give them promise of HOPE! We hope to see Soo can be thriving and adapting well to her new home. She has to find the life of a free bear. We will be monitoring to see how she progresses over the coming months at quarantine. Text by Chiew Lin May Photos by BSBCC & Chiew Lin May  I am not an ordinary sun bear cub as I became a victim of the illegal wildlife trade.  A villager reported that I was found on a palm oil plantation while hunting for bearded pigs. I was kept as a house pet and ended up spending the beginning of my life confined in a tiny cage.  I was only two months old and weighed 2-3 kg. At two months old, I should be with my mother. In the wild, I should be tightly with my mum and relying on her protection and care for two to three years of my life. My mum was killed by a poacher, which is a common fate for sun bears. Many people still are not aware of the negative impacts and how illegal it is to keep a sun bear as a pet.  Due to the unbalanced diet with no milk and being kept in severely cramped conditions, I showed signs of malnutrition, calcium deficiency and stunted growth. It was sad to see the trauma I had to suffer alone. I am a dwarf with my limbs weak so I need to walk slowly.  Thankfully, on September 12th, 2011 Sabah Wildlife Department came and rescued me, and BSBCC gave me very close care.  During my rehabilitation, my papa bear, Dr. Wong Siew Te (BSBCC CEO & Founder), took me out for daily forest walks to learn the survival skills I need in the wild. Wong is like my surrogate mother. This was amazing since it gives me the chance to return to my forest home. I learnt from my papa bear how to climb trees, how to balance myself when resting on trees, how to forage for wild food (example: fruits and invertebrates), how to defend myself and how to avoid predators. I am adapting really well to my new forest environment and am getting good practice for my life in the forest home. My papa bear helps me strengthen my muscles and makes sure I am capable in walking, climbing trees, running, and learning useful moves everyday! They prepared a variety of enrichment for me to ensure my natural instincts are prevalent. Mary, the sun bear wants to give Thanks to my papa bear, Wong – “Despite my stunted body, I am still a brave and confident bear! He helped me grow stronger, his tireless efforts to care for me while learning to become a wild bear and for giving me a second chance, and the dedication to protecting my fellow sun bears. I truly did not believe I would survive. It has meant everything to me, my Papa bear!”   It took a long time for me to undergo the rehabilitation process. I am in good health while under the care of BSBCC. For me, being previously kept as a pet made me forget that I am actually a sun bear. Suckling is an innate behavior. I should suckle my mum for seeking comfort but I had lost her, and the chance to seek protection and comfort. This makes me only able to suckle my own feet to seek comfort.  But a year later, with the care from BSBCC, I am slowly thriving!   I am a friendly character which makes me so incredibly loveable. I love to wrestle with the other bears.   Due to my relatively short and smaller sized body, I am now only able to socialise with the sub-adult group. Within these six years, I have been introduced to many groups of bears which have included Fulung, Debbie, Ah Bui, Bongkud, Koko, Damai, Sunbearo, Loki, Bintang, Boboi, Kitud, Tan-Tan, Dodop, Wawa, Montom, Susie2, Kala, Nano and Noah. I am very social with the other bear friends – through lots and lots of happy bear wrestling.     I greatly enjoy the time in the jungle with my friends   I am keen to explore my surroundings.   I am always up to something which is connected to food and have a good appetite.      I am at the age where I still am learning to be a wild bear and show a lot of natural behaviors such as digging, foraging, climbing and love finding my own protein supply of termites, beetles, beetle larvae or soil.   I love climbing to the top of the trees.   Although we are very arboreal and agile, here we sometimes will compete with each other to get to the top of the tree canopy! We are up in the trees, which is where we belong!     During sunny days, I prefer to stay in shady places – either in the underbrush or in the trees.  It is my determination!     The rest of the time, we enjoy wrestling, chasing each other, rolling, climbing trees, snoozing on a treetop or the forest floor, feeling the breeze stirring the treetops,  lounging by a pool      and carrying on making mischief and it is a whole load of fun! We find out about life in the forest together and are loving every minute of it! I am in my own world! But most importantly, I know I am part of the sun bear family. What a wonderful experience and opportunity I have after such a traumatic beginning. Please spread the word that sun bears are WILD animals that belong in the forest, and NOT to end up behind bars. We need to clear the pet trade, poaching and deforestation. It is not over yet! Please let us enjoy the taste of freedom in the forest where we belong!  |
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