Theguardian, 6th January 2014
By Ami Sedghi

Like a proud dad, Siew Te Wong's office walls and desk are covered in baby pictures, but unlike ordinary infants these possess four-inch claws and a taste for insects and honey. Wong, a leading sun bear researcher, has a heartfelt passion for the world's smallest bear that is as big as the problems facing the species.


The sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) lives in south-east Asia, Sumatra and Borneo and was first listed as "vulnerable" on the IUCN's "red list" of threatened species in 2007. Traffic, the wildlife trade monitoring network, said in 2011 that the sun bear population was suspected to have declined by more than 30% in the past 30 years. Deforestation, uncontrolled exploitation for trade and illegal poaching were named as major causes.


Named sun-bear man by the local Malayan press, Wong is working hard to raise awareness of what he calls the "forgotten bears species". TheBornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, nestled next door to the Sepilok Orangutang sanctuary in Sabah, Malaysia, is set to be the first of its like in the world. Due to open to the public on 16 January, it will focus onanimal welfare, education, research and rehabilitation.


"We need the public, from all levels, to understand the importance of the rainforest," says Wong. "I think education is fundamental because sun bears are still lacking in terms of the conservation work and research. And a lot of that boils down to the fact that people do not know about the species, people do not care about the species."


WWF says that the global demand for palm oil has been a major driver in the level of deforestation seen in Indonesia, while Greenpeace warnsthat Indonesia is planning for another 4m hectares of pam oil plantations by 2015, in addition to the existing 6m.


When asked about palm oil, which is used in a variety of food products from margarine to biscuits, Wong sighs and says: "Yes, but again, who causes it? You and me. You know, we are responsible." He points to human population growth and the demand it creates for more resources and the destruction of habitat that, in turn, threatens wildlife.


Despite the species being protected by law for decades, Wong thinks more can be done to enforce wildlife law – the maximum penalty is five years in jail or 100,000 ringgit (almost £20,000) or both. "It's always considered not to be a priority," he explains, "so the law is rarely being enforced and sometimes people don't know that it's actually against the law."


He tells stories of encounters with villagers keeping sun bear cubs as pets; "oh, my grandfather used to have two bears, my father used to have one bear, why can I not have one bear?" and shocking use of the bear's paws for food, a dish he tells me that was once considered an Emperor's dish. "If you Google bear paw stew you can actually find recipes on the internet. They teach you how to cook bear paw stew, can you believe that?" he shakes his head incredulously. "It's crazy. Absolutely crazy."
​

Among the piles of reports on his desk, horror stories of bears squashed into tiny cages, being farmed for their bile, Wong picks up a picture of him in his younger years with a rescued sun bear cub after its mother was killed by poachers. "I just cannot turn a blind eye," he says, glancing at the image. "Even though the number may not be great, it has to be taken care of."

Like a proud dad, Siew Te Wong's office walls and desk are covered in baby pictures, but unlike ordinary infants these possess four-inch claws and a taste for insects and honey. Wong, a leading sun bear researcher, has a heartfelt passion for the world's smallest bear that is as big as the problems facing the species.


The sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) lives in south-east Asia, Sumatra and Borneo and was first listed as "vulnerable" on the IUCN's "red list" of threatened species in 2007. Traffic, the wildlife trade monitoring network, said in 2011 that the sun bear population was suspected to have declined by more than 30% in the past 30 years. Deforestation, uncontrolled exploitation for trade and illegal poaching were named as major causes.


Named sun-bear man by the local Malayan press, Wong is working hard to raise awareness of what he calls the "forgotten bears species". TheBornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, nestled next door to the Sepilok Orangutang sanctuary in Sabah, Malaysia, is set to be the first of its like in the world. Due to open to the public on 16 January, it will focus onanimal welfare, education, research and rehabilitation.


"We need the public, from all levels, to understand the importance of the rainforest," says Wong. "I think education is fundamental because sun bears are still lacking in terms of the conservation work and research. And a lot of that boils down to the fact that people do not know about the species, people do not care about the species."


WWF says that the global demand for palm oil has been a major driver in the level of deforestation seen in Indonesia, while Greenpeace warnsthat Indonesia is planning for another 4m hectares of pam oil plantations by 2015, in addition to the existing 6m.


When asked about palm oil, which is used in a variety of food products from margarine to biscuits, Wong sighs and says: "Yes, but again, who causes it? You and me. You know, we are responsible." He points to human population growth and the demand it creates for more resources and the destruction of habitat that, in turn, threatens wildlife.


Despite the species being protected by law for decades, Wong thinks more can be done to enforce wildlife law – the maximum penalty is five years in jail or 100,000 ringgit (almost £20,000) or both. "It's always considered not to be a priority," he explains, "so the law is rarely being enforced and sometimes people don't know that it's actually against the law."


He tells stories of encounters with villagers keeping sun bear cubs as pets; "oh, my grandfather used to have two bears, my father used to have one bear, why can I not have one bear?" and shocking use of the bear's paws for food, a dish he tells me that was once considered an Emperor's dish. "If you Google bear paw stew you can actually find recipes on the internet. They teach you how to cook bear paw stew, can you believe that?" he shakes his head incredulously. "It's crazy. Absolutely crazy."


Among the piles of reports on his desk, horror stories of bears squashed into tiny cages, being farmed for their bile, Wong picks up a picture of him in his younger years with a rescued sun bear cub after its mother was killed by poachers. "I just cannot turn a blind eye," he says, glancing at the image. "Even though the number may not be great, it has to be taken care of."

Thick grey clouds envelop the plane as the pilot’s voice breaks through on the speaker announcing the imminent landing of the passenger aircraft in Tawau town in eastern Malaysia.
​

After a few minutes of descent the cloud clears, revealing the state of Sabah’s lush green mountains, valleys and plains thick with vegetation. But there are also milky brown rivers that snake and cut through the verdant scenery.
As the plane continues its descent, another flaw in the panorama is revealed: the thick green vegetation is not a forest, but acres and acres of palm oil trees. The oil is Sabah’s main agricultural crop, growing on an estimated 1.43 million hectares of land or 20 per cent of the state’s total land area.


Conservationists say the massive conversion of low-lying land into palm-oil plantations as well as unabated logging in the mountains, where land is also being turned over to agriculture, may lead to the extinction of some of Borneo’s animals and plants.
The Bornean wilderness is considered one of the oldest tropical forests in the world.


Data from the state’s forestry department shows Sabah’s forest cover at about 3.59 million hectares.
But only 910,914 hectares of that is considered virgin forest. A total of 2.68 million hectares has been classified as commercial forest, meaning it has been allocated for logging.


John Payne, an expert on the Bornean rhinoceros and executive director of conservation group Borneo Rhino Alliance, said the destruction of the North Borneo forests started way back in the 1880s when British colonisers started felling trees for timber.
“Unfortunately, we lost much of the forests and the animals and plants living in it,” he said.

Among the most endangered animal living in the Sabah forests is the rhinoceros, the smallest kind of rhino that has ever existed.


Payne estimated about 15 Bornean rhinoceros were roaming the Sabah forests “But it could be less,” he said, adding that for the past two years, despite intensive tracking, his team had found signs of only two of these mammals in the forests.


Malaysia has three specimens in captivity. One is at an advanced age in a zoo in Sabah’s capital of Kota Kinabalu. A mating pair is at a sanctuary managed and operated by Payne’s group in the hope of breeding the animals in captivity, but the female has borne no young.


Another group of animals in trouble as the Bornean forests dwindle are rare pygmy elephants that are only found in Borneo.


In November 2013, the Sabah state government set up a sanctuary for these pachyderms in badly degraded forests along the Kinabatangan river which is an important part of the habitat of these elephants.


Earlier this year, 19 pygmy elephants were found dead in the same area, apparently as a result of poisoning.


The World Wildlife Fund says the orang-utan, Asia’s only great ape and found only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, is also becoming a vulnerable species due to loss of its habitat.


The global conservation group said that the population of the so-called “man of the forests” in Sabah dropped to an estimated 11,000 in 2004 from 20,000 in the mid 1980s.


“This decline in their numbers in the last twenty years was caused by planned conversion of forests to plantations in the eastern lowlands,” WWF said in a report.


Siew Te Wong, chief executive officer of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center, said the cuddly bears are another species considered threatened as the Bornean forests shrink.


“The sun bear is a forest-dependent species,” he said. “The amount of forest available reflects the amount of habitat they have and over the last 50 years if you look at the whole forested area across South-East Asia, the forested area is declining. “So when the forest is gone, the bear will be as well.”


Sabah forestry director Sam Mannan said the government is determined to increase the proportion of forest cover to the total land area.


He said since the start of the year, his office has stopped issuing short-term logging licences in a bid to reduce the pace of timber harvesting from natural forests.


“Our long-term plan is to create 2 million hectares of protected areas, or 30 per cent of Sabah’s landmass,” he said.

© Peter Halasz - Creative Commons. De honingbeer heeft zwaar te leiden onder ontbossing en illegale jacht.Een nieuw natuurreservaat in Borneo moet een toevluchtsoord worden voor de bedreigde honingbeer. Dat schrijft de Britse krantThe Guardian. Volgens Siew Te Wong, de bezieler van het reservaat, krijgt het lijden van de honingbeer te weinig aandacht.

Siew Te Wong, de bezieler van het Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, heeft van de plaatselijke bevolking de bijnaam 'honingbeerman' gekregen. Het centrum opent op 16 januari de deuren. Volgens Wong is de honingbeer één van de 'vergeten beersoorten'.

De honingbeer heeft de voorbije decennia sterk geleden onder ontbossing en illegale jacht. "We moeten de mensen, op ieder niveau, het belang van het regenwoud aanleren", verklaart Wong aan The Guardian. "Onderwijs is fundamenteel omdat maar weinig mensen de honingbeer kennen. En als de mensen een diersoort niet kennen, schenken ze er ook geen aandacht aan."

Palmolie
Volgens het WWF is de toenemende globale vraag naar palmolie één van de hoofdredenen voor de ontbossing. Volgens Wong ligt de oorzaak bij de mensen zelf. De menselijke bevolkingsgroei veroorzaakt een eis naar meer grondstoffen, wat nefast is voor vele diersoorten.
​
Volgens Wong wordt er, ondanks het feit dat de beer al lang wettelijk beschermd wordt, nog altijd veel te weinig gedaan voor de bescherming van de diersoort. "Op het internet zijn heel gemakkelijk recepten voor stoofpot van berenpoot te vinden, kun je dat geloven? Het is gek, absoluut gek."

In Borneo moet een nieuw natuurreservaat het leefgebied worden voor de honingbeer. Deze beersoort wordt in haar voortbestaan bedreigd en volgens Siew te Wong de oprichter van het Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre en beheerder van  het reservaat is er veel te weinig aandacht voor de diersoort. Hij noemt het zelfs één van de ‘vergeten’ beersoorten.


De honingbeer is een kleine donkerbruine tot zwarte beer met een gele tot witte vlek op zijn borst. Het dier heeft een gladde en korte vacht en komt alleen in de regenwouden van Zuidoost-Azië voor.  Ze danken hun naam aan het feit dat ze dol op honing zijn. Met hun sterke klauwen maken ze een bijennest open om er vervolgens de honing met hun lange tong uit op te likken. Naast honing eten ze vooral vruchten maar ook kleine dieren en eieren.[Bron]


De afgelopen decennia is de populatie honingberen enorm afgenomen als gevolg van ontbossing en illegale jacht. Volgens Wong is het heel belangrijk dat mensen zich gaan realiseren hoe belangrijk het regenwoud is.


“Onderwijs is fundamenteel omdat maar weinig mensen de honingbeer kennen. En als de mensen een diersoort niet kennen, schenken ze er ook geen aandacht aan”, aldus Wong.


Volgens het Wereld Natuur Fonds is de grote vraag naar palmolie één van de belangrijkste redenen van de ontbossing. Ook voor de bouw van sojaplantages voor veevoer worden enorme hoeveelheden regenwoud gekapt.
​

Op 16 januari opent het Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre de deuren.

The opening of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Sepilok, Malyasia this week brings hope to this forgotten species and excitement to a group of University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) students who are heading to Borneo next month to help promote the Centre.


Sun bears battle deforestation, exploitation, and illegal poaching. These threats have caused wild populations to plummet 30 per cent in the past 30 years and earn a “vulnerable” status on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
One man has devoted his life to changing the tide. Siew Te Wong established the BSBCC in 2008 in Sabah, Malaysia directly next door to the popular Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary.


His goal is to rehabilitate and releases sun bears back into their native habitat.
From meagre beginnings, the centre now houses up to 52 bears. Until recently, all work has taken place behind closed doors but a new visitor information centre opens its doors this week.
“I could not have fulfilled this dream without the help of many dedicated people,” Wong says.


Part of that team come from the Sunshine Coast. USC tutor Sarah Pye visited Borneo with her family last year. A chance meeting with Siew Te Wong set off a chain of events which has led to USC partnering with the centre in signage designs, promotional activities and conservation efforts.


Ms Pye and her public relations team are celebrating the centre’s opening, with a free documentary screening of “Big Dream, Little Bears” which follows Wong’s journey. Created by Sydney filmmakers Wild Hoop Productions, it follows Wong’s amazing commitment.


“This film is a must see for anyone contemplating a visit to Borneo,” Ms Pye says.
“Wong’s story is reminiscent of Jane Goodall’s work with gorillas, and the documentary is very inspirational.”


The free film screening will be held at Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital on Thursday 30 January. Doors open at 5.30pm. Spaces are limited and reservations are essential. Email spye@usc.edu.au to reserve your place.
free documentary screening of “Big Dream, Little Bears”
Thursday 30 January
Doors open at 5.30pm
Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital
reservations are essential

The Star Online, 13th January 2014

KOTA KINABALU: Conservationists in Sabah are feeling more pressure to save the remaining endangered Sumatran rhinos following the death of one of the creatures in captivity, here.


Gelugob, one of only 10 Sumatran rhinoceros in captivity worldwide, died on Jan 11 at the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park.


Sabah Wildlife Department veterinarian Dr Rosa Sipangkui said Gelugob’s age was about 37 years. There were probably less that 150 Sumatran rhinos left in the wild today, in Sumatra and Borneo, he said.


Sipangkui said Gelugob’s health had deteriorated rapidly since early January and it had refused to drink and ate little.


Department director Datuk Laurentius Ambu said conservationists were now even more determined to save rhinos from extinction.


“Sabah now seems to be the only state in Malaysia that has wild rhinos,” he said.
“Rhino numbers are too low and the wild rhinos too fragmented. If we do not intervene and rescue all of them and consolidate them into a managed breeding programme, propagation of new generations of baby rhinos will be impossible,” Laurentius added.


He said if this managed breeding programme was not done, then all the remaining rhinos would meet the same fate as Gelugob; growing old and dying without producing any more young rhinos, resulting in the extinction of this species in Sabah.


Department assistant director Dr Sen Nathan said Gelugob was believed to be the oldest rhino in captivity prior to her death. The last Sumatran rhino to die in captivity was a 33-year-old male in Cincinnati Zoo in the United States.


He said Gelugob was rescued from Bulud Napa, Kinabatangan in 1994. “Gelugob was immediately included into our Sumatran rhino captive programme, which was then located in Sepilok near Sandakan,” he said.


“For the following 19 years, local and foreign experts from around the world tried to breed and study her reproductive behaviour extensively, until 2011, when she was found to be unable to produce eggs, even with hormone treatment, due to her old age,” Sen added.
​

On March 24 last year, Gelugob was brought to the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park from the Tabin Wildlife Reserve  as an ambassador for Sumatran rhino conservation efforts.

New Straits Times, 13th January 2014
By Kristy Inus | news@nst.com.my
 
KOTA KINABALU: Gelugob, one of only ten Sumatran rhinoceros in captivity worldwide, has died of old age here at the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park.Her age was estimated at 37 years. There are probably less that 150 Sumatran rhinos left in the wild today, in Sumatra and Borneo.
Park veterinarian, Dr Rosa Sipangkui said in early January her condition suddenly went downhill; "she refused to drink and ate very little."
"Despite the best efforts of our Veterinary team her condition continued to deteriorate and on the evening of 11th January she passed away ”.
Assistant Wildlife Department director Dr Sen Nathan said Gelugob is believed to have been the oldest prior to her death.
"The last Sumatran rhino to die in captivity was a 33 year old male in Cincinnati Zoo, USA.
"Gelugob was rescued from Bulud Napa, Kinabatangan in 1994. Her age at that time of capture was estimated at around 16-17 years old," Sen said.
“Though the death of Gelugob is a great loss, this only furthers our determination to do whatever we can to save this species from extinction,” said Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu, Director of the Sabah Wildlife Department.