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A group of six staff members from Tradewinds Plantation Berhad visited BSBCC on November 3rd, 2017. Dr. Wong Siew Te brought them for a tour around the observation platforms to see the bears in the forest enclosure. This company has also adopted three of our sun bears under the My Bear Adoption Programme, named Jelita, Linggam and Simone. Adopting a bear is a great way to learn about sun bears while helping BSBCC meet the costs of rehabilitation. Funds raised by the adoption program are used to better the lives of all bears. Thank you for your visit and the support!  Dr. Wong explaining the sun bear's behavior in the forest.  Observing sun bears in the forest enclosure from the observation platform.  Dr. Wong receiving a mock-cheque from Mr. Charles Chow Kok Cheng, Senior General Manager of Tradewinds Plantation Berhad.
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Today, the BSBCC were glad to welcome group visits from 2 different schools. The group from SMK Keningau, Keningau came early in the morning. This time, the students were required to answer sets of questions in the Sun Bear Explorer Book. They obtained the answers from the signboards along the boardwalk. Through this activity, the students were encouraged to make critical thinking and were able to understand better about sun bears and its environment. At the end of the activity, the answers were discussed together. At 2pm in the afternoon, another group from SMK Kemabong, Tenom came to visit our centre. Due to limited time, they didn't do the Sun Bear Explorer activity but instead they were given short briefings and brought for tour at the observation platforms. BSBCC are very happy to see more young people learning about the Mother Nature.  Looking for answers from the signboard    Sun Bear Explorer Book (Malay version)   Draw your chestmark!    Discussion with Gloria  Drawing bear nest  Group photo with SMK Keningau, Keningau   Group from SMK Kemabong, Tenom  Group from SMK Kemabong, Tenom Yesterday, on the 27th July 2017, BSBCC was invited to do awareness programme in Sandakan Baptist Church Kindergarten and today the school group came to visit our centre. The school children were accompanied by their teacher and parents. BSBCC’s Education Team gave a brief introduction and safety precautions before they were brought to the observation platform. After observing the bears in the forest enclosure, the school group engaged with the activity, bear origami. One of our aims in BSBCC is to raise awareness among the public about sun bears. We were glad to share our knowledge on sun bears to them and they really enjoyed learning! Thanks to teachers and parents for their efforts and time to take the school children to visit to our centre and learn about sun bears.   Bear observation on the platform  The children met our Founder and CEO, Dr Wong Siew Te  They can't wait to see the bear through the spotting scope   They patiently wait in line to have a look through the scope     Bellinda, assisting the children to make bear origami step by step   This morning we welcome students from the Oregon State University, United States. BSBCC Founder and CEO, Dr. Wong delivered a talk on sun bears, how BSBCC was set up and BSBCC's achievements. Then, everyone went for an exclusive tour at the sun bear observation area guided by Dr. Wong himself. It was also our honor to welcome Dr. Wendy Erb, Fulbright Scholar and biological anthropologist and also Shanon Phang from the US Embassy, Kuala Lumpur to BSBCC. Thank you all for visiting us and we hope everyone had a wonderful time learning about the sun bears today!         A school visit from SK Karamunting Preschool, Sandakan visited BSBCC today, 11th May 2017.There were 56 students and 16 teachers and parents involved in this visit. The school children came together with their teachers and parents. They were given a short introduction on sun bears using sun bear mascot and later they were brought to the observation platforms to see the bears roaming in the forest enclosure. The children together with their parents and teachers enjoyed their time at our Centre learning about sun bears and the environment. We were glad to share our knowledge on sun bears to them. We believe that environmental education can help in the efforts to save sun bears and their habitat for generations to come.     In conjunction with the programme “Program Taklimat dan Lawatan Turun Padang Pengalaman Ecotourism & Clean Air Di Sandakan dan Kota Kinabalu, it was a privilege to have a visit from Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC) and Tourism Malaysia. During the visit, short briefings and introductions were delivered by representatives from Sabah Wildlife Department, Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, The Sabah Parks and Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah. After that, they had a tour to the outdoor nursery of the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre and also to the BSBCC’s viewing platform to observe the sun bears. Thank you for visiting us and we hope that this programme can help us to promote the tourism and conservation centres in Sepilok area and help us spread the words.   Introduction from Pn. Jum Rafiah Abd Sukor, Deputy Director of Sabah Wildlife Department  Short introduction about BSBCC from Dr. Wong Siew Te  Short introduction about Sabah Parks from representative of The Sabah Parks  Puan Mariam Omar from Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah  Tour to outdoor nursery Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre  Tour to BSBCC     presenting token of appreciation to Mr. Alan bin Abdul Rahim, Under Secretary of Finance Division, Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia  presenting token of appreciation to Dato' Sri Abdul Khani Daud, Deputy Director General (Promotion), Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board   Text by Chiew Lin May Photos by Gloria Ganang & Chiew Lin May An event was held at the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, Sabah to capture the effort of wildlife conservation in Sabah and also in conjunction with the “Sabah Wildlife Department’s 50 Years anniversary celebration”. On last week (4th October 2013 till 6th October 2013), three of the BSBCC team members, Gloria, Ernie and myself where involve in this event. This event is an educational and public awareness programme focusing on the wildlife conservation activities in Sabah. The motto of this event is “Past, Present and Future” (Dulu, Kini dan Selamanya in malay language).  Several exhibitions were carried out by government agencies and NGOs to encourage people about the issue of protecting wildlife and their habitat such as a) Sabah Wildlife Department   b) Tabin Wildlife Reserve Resort  c) Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC)  d) Bornean Conservation Trust (BCT)   Elephant satellite collar - This collaring activity is one of the components of the Mega Biodiversity Corridor programme initiated by Bornean Conservation Trust (BCT), which aims to enhance forest ecosystem connectivity and ecological corridors within key habitats of the Bornean elephant. e) WWF  f) Sabah Swiftlet House & Bird’s Nest Industry Association (SWIFIN)  g) Tuaran Crocodile Farm   h) Reef Guardian  The public are invited to the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. The Lok Kawi Wildlife Park is run by Sabah Wildlife Department. The park consists of zoological and botanical component.  We set our booth near opposite is the elephant enclosure.   On October 4 2013, we held the opening ceremony at 9.30am. A memorandum of agreement between the Sabah Wildlife Department, The Reef Dive Resort, Tours, and Sipadan Pom-Pom Island was signed for the protection of four marine turtles in Malaysia and their habitats.    Gloria is introduce our sun bear booth and BSBCC work.  Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Kamarlin Ombi and Wildlife Department Deputy Director, Augustine Tuuga visiting sun bear booth. Gloria was explaining the works of BSBCC to the VIP Visitors.   Datuk Kamarlin Ombi and Augustine Tuuga was looking at the bear profile book.  Our teams are spreading the word of this forgotten species.  It is very important to creating more awareness about sun bears among the public.  Gloria is give some questions about sun bear to the kids.   Throughout the celebration, Lok Kawi Wildlife Park conducted various fun activities such as: a) Up-close and personal with two elephant calf - Wildlife Rescue Unit staff brought the elephant calves out and discussed the current threats that the Borneo Pygmy elephant is facing in Sabah.   b) Colouring contest - Involved children one to twelve years old, and allowed them to express their artistry, creativity, and love for animals through wonderful colors.      Look like sun bear become brown bear! c) Story telling contest - Involved the secondary school students and the title of their story had to focus on the challenges and responsibilities around protecting wildlife in Sabah. This story telling helps conserve wildlife by raising awareness around the threats that endangered animals in Sabah are facing.   d) Story telling contest - Involved the primary school students and the title of their story had to focus on the awareness that students have about our natural environment. Children are great fans of stories and love to listen to them. This contest plays a role into creating more awareness among the public.  e) Photography contest f) Face painting - A face painting booth- one thing that all kids love! This is a great activity which kids and adults can choose their favorite animals and have their faces painted in resemblance.  Gloria get a footprint in her hand!      g) Wildlife Game - A group of five students with one teacher is involved in this game. This is an adventurous learning activity related to wildlife. From the game, two questions are related to sun bears. Question 1: What is the scientific name for the sun bear? Question 2: What is the smallest bear in the world?  h) Catch the entertaining animal show at the Park’s Amphitheatre.    i) Recycled clothing contest - Students created new designs and fashions using reusable items and their imaginations. Examples of the recycled materials they used are bottle caps, aluminium can tabs, wire, juice boxes, cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, string, and feathers. The purpose of this activity is to create public awareness regarding the importance of saving the planet and the environmental benefits that recycling provides.    j) Eco-Fashion show by Miss Earth Sabah - Recycled clothing is making waves in the fashion industry. In this fashion show all of the clothes were made from aluminium foil, DVDs, glass, metal, candy wrappers, and other recycled materials. The concept behind clothing made from recycled material supports saving the planet and would result in less pollution for a sustainable planet.   Thank you for supporters that support our sun bear!!  This event was a wonderful opportunity to learn about a variety of animals at the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park and share knowledge with the public. I really hope that this event helped raise awareness about the wildlife issues happening in Sabah, and encouraged people to react in ways that promote saving and conserving the Borneo wildlife habitat.
Text by Gloria Ganang & photo by Tee Thye Lim The kids from the ISS International School have selected the BSBCC as one of their destinations for their Borneo trip. Thanks to APE Malaysia, we managed to team up and get these kids to learn about the importance of enrichment for sun bears in captivity. A total of 29 13-14 year old kids involved and they were accompanied by their 4 teachers. It all started with an introduction talk about sun bears and the BSBCC.  Introducing the BSBCC Then the students were brought to the platform and the bear house to do a pre enrichment observation on the bears. In other words is they get to see how the bears behave without any enrichment given. Then, the fun part! ENRICHMENT MAKING!!  Materials for making enrichment  The kids were briefed about "safe enrichment for sun bears" by Thye Lim  Eliminating plastic tapes from the cardboards  Staples aren't safe for the bears  The bears would love these in their enrichment  "What should be made out of these egg trays?"  Using ropes made of natural fiber to tye up enrichments  Spreading bits of herbs and spices on a ginger leaf  Everyone is so focused  Looking good! Everybody managed to complete their enrichment in 20 minutes (thats fast!). They did a very good job in creating them using the provided materials (cardboard, egg trays, various kinds of herbs & spices, beans, ginger leaves, hessian sack etc). The bears could smell their "toys" from afar as the kids were bringing them closer. They were curious and couldn't wait to check out whats coming ahead. Everything was quickly ripped apart, however the bears continued to check out every remain pieces until the end of the day. Not forgetting the macaques that shares the forest enclosure, they got entertained by the enrichment as well. It was another interesting day for the bears at the BSBCC as these enrichment were different from the daily enrichment provided by the BSBCC staff. Thanks to the ISS kids, you all definitely made a difference. Not forgetting your kind donations to the centre, we really appreciate them!  ISS kids presenting their donations to BSBCC Text and photo by Tee Thye Lim "Is the Koala a bear species?'' Asked our Project Manager, Wai Pak to the primary school students of SK. St. Gabriel who visited our centre on the 23 Oct 2012.  Wai Pak giving a short briefing to the SK St. Gabriel students before they were brought in for a tour at BSBCC. "Yes, because it looks like a bear!'' A little girl raised up her hand and answered. "No! Koala is not a bear!" A little boy refuted from the opposite side. The argument continued for about 3 minutes until Wai Pak announced the answer. "No, Koala is not a bear species, it is a type of the Marsupial, same family with the kangaroos" said Wai Pak.  The different facial expressions of the students after learning that the Koala is not a bear Most of the kids have an idea of a sun bear. They've seen it on TV programmes, perhaps on the internet, however not in a natural environment. Some of them also mentioned about the local TV programme, TV3 which aired a documentary about BSBCC last week end: <Sunshine in Sepilok: Tales of the Bornean Sun Bears> Later, knowing that they were about to see real, life Bornean sun bears, the smallest among the smallest of the bears in the world, the kids couldn't wait.  The young generations' curiosity of the nature is always the best inspiration of mother Earth conservation The SK St. Gabriel students at first did not see the Sun Bears roaming at the visible spot. Fortunately, they were able to join the second group of visitors on that day which was the students of the American International School of Hong Kong, guided by the Animal Projects & Environmental Education (APE) Malaysia team. This time everyone was able to spot the sun bears. More excitingly, sun bears climbing the trees!  The American International School of Hong Kong group were then invited to watch the BSBCC documentary .  Wai Pak giving a short introduction about the documentary At the end of the visit, SK. St. Gabriel presented a drawing to BSBCC. It was inspiring! Thank you so much!  Wai Pak (left) and Wong (centre) receiving the drawing from SK St. Gabriel Also, many thanks to APE Malaysia team for your donations! Not forgetting the hessian sacks you brought us. The bears will definitely love rubbing themselves on them! Lastly and most importantly, thank you for sparing time and efforts to visit our Centre. It was such a great opportunity for us to share the needs of this small small bear species!  Representative of the American International School group (right) handing over donation to BSBCC, represented by Wai Pak (left) Thank you SK. St. Gabriel! Thank you APE Malaysia and American International School of Hong Kong! We hope to see you again! |
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