Text by Jacquelyn Jill Jepiuh

We are pleased to share that we have released our 12th bear into the wild! Our candidate was Sika, first rescued by the Sabah Wildlife Department on the 9th February 2017 and set free exactly 6 years later on the 10th February 2023.
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Sika was spotted by a foreigner who was travelling through a rural area called Kampung Sikalabaan in Pensiagan district, Sabah. She was found as a 4-month-old bear cub that was kept as a pet in a chicken mesh cage and was fed condensed milk, fruits and cereal. He then decided to call BSBCC and asked for help rescuing this bear cub. Sika first arrived BSBCC on March 1st, 2017. As a cub, she had strikingly beautiful blue eyes and eventually with extra love and patience she managed to overcome her traumatic past and developed into a lovely and playful bear cub. Her keepers at the time helped to teach her as much forest skills they could such as climbing, digging and foraging. She was off to a good start! She slowly gained the confidence as a young cub to develop the skills needed to survive outside in the forest.

​As she grew older, she made new friends – BJ, Soo and Kina. These four were integrated while they were in the quarantine area together forming a close bond with each other. Eventually in 2020, the group was moved to the bear house where they could start their fence training before going out to the forest enclosure! Sika was the last to pass fence training but when she was finally out in the forest enclosure, she showed her amazing climbing skills. Always spending the longest in the forest enclosure usually up high in the trees and sometimes not wanting to come back to her cage! Spotting her from the perimeters of the fence was very hard as she mostly spent her time deep inside the forest not wanting our attention. A shy bear at nature and a master of disguise with her dark snout always hiding in the bushes. Occasionally we would be able to spot her resting in the hollows of a dead tree.

9th February 2023
It is finally the day to get Sika ready for her release! At 3pm, Dr Yeoh Boon Nie and the bear care team prepared all things necessary to relocate Sika into her translocation cage. After a last health assessment and a collar change, she was placed into the cage and was closely monitored by her keeper. By 12am, the team loaded her up onto the car and started their long journey to Tabin Wildlife Reserve. Few stops were made to check on Sika’s condition, feeding her some banana and honey water to keep her hydrated for the journey.

​10th February 2023
The team arrived Tabin Forest Reserve at 6am but unfortunately the weather was not on our side which caused some delays with the helicopter coming to relocate Sika. She was a little restless in the cage, but calmed down after the team put her by the river to cool down. Once the skies cleared up, the helicopter arrived at 10.15am. It’s go time!

​After touchdown, the team made the last preparations and inspected the release site. When everything was set in place, it was finally time to let Sika free! We opened her translocation cage door at 12.11pm and Sika immediately ran out. Still in sight, she slowly and calmly explored her new environment until she went deeper into the forest. In a blink of an eye she was gone.
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Words cannot describe the joy we felt seeing Sika back in the wild, where she truly belongs. Run free beautiful Sika, may you never encounter another human again!

​BSBCC would like to give a huge thank you Yayasan Sime Darby and Hasanah Foundation for their continuous support towards our rehabilitation program. Other than our rehabilitation program, their contribution towards our efforts in promoting sun bear conservation, animal welfare, education and research have greatly helped support our cause. Thank you for giving captive bears like Sika a better life and also a fighting chance to be returned to the wild.

​International Sun Bear Day 2022 has been a success! The celebration was informally started two days before with the mask coloring activity with the children coming to BSBCC starting from 14th May until 16th May, followed by the Zumba Dance Fundraiser on the 15th May. On the 16th of May, the event was formally launched with the opening speech from Yayasan Sime Darby Excellence Scholars and followed by a virtual tour from Dr. Wong Siew Te. The tour was filled with interactive Q&A session between Dr. Wong and the audience, sharing them with stories and personal experience about the sun bears with the emphasize on the event’s theme, “Healthy Forest, Happy Wildlife”.

At the same time, Sandakan Vocational College students were doing paintings based on the event’s theme. Soon after, the Kahoot Quiz was carried out by the YSD Excellence Scholars, testing participants comprehension about the sun bears.

The birthday celebration and cake cutting ceremony for Dr. Wong’s birthday was done shortly after the lunchtime. It was indeed a memorable moment for Dr. Wong, whose birthday coincided with the release of Natalie back in 2015, in which the first Sun Bear Day was celebrated in 2017 to commemorate Natalie’s release.

After the ceremony, the students were guided by the Bear Care Unit to create enrichment for the bears. The enrichment consist of ginger leaves tied tightly with vines and dipped into a solution of shrimp paste, producing a strong smell to attract the bears. The students got the chance to see the bears enjoying their treat by throwing the enrichment into the forest enclosures.

The event wrapped up with the announcement for the winners for the essay, story telling, and the painting competitions, personally announced by Dr. Wong. We would like to thanks to Life Water Industries Sdn Bhd, Sepilok Jungle Resorts, Sepilok Nature Resort and Sabah Hotel for sponsoring the Zumba Dance Fundraiser and Kuwait Finance House Berhad for sponsoring the tickets for Malaysian kids coming to BSBCC during the past three days from 14-16th May 2022, and not forgetting all the participants and all parties involved in making this event a success. See you guys again next year!

Text by Seng Yen Wah
Photos by Chiew Lin May & Seng Yen Wah

After Sunbearo and Loki were reintroduced into the wild in January of last year, we are happy to announce that we have successfully released Wawa, a six-year-old adult female sun bear, back into the wild on February 26, 2022. She is the 11th bear to be reintroduced into the wild by the BSBCC.

​Wawa arrived at the BSBCC on the 18th of March, 2016. When she arrived at the BSBCC she was just four months old. She was spotted by the Forest Management Unit (FMU) 16, Pinangah, Telupid District. At that time, when the officer brought her to the FMU, she appeared weak. The next day, they surrendered Wawa to the Sabah Wildlife Department. After that, she was sent to the Lok Kawi Wildlife Zoo and then to the BSBCC.

​Ideally, the bear cub will stay with their mother until two to three years old. However, Wawa was found alone, without her mother by her side. She suffered from the loss of her mother. Due to emotional trauma, Wawa was afraid of her new environment. She would become grumpy and start growling. She felt safer and prefered to stay in the den rather than out in the forest.

​For Wawa to gain confidence, her keepers provided her with different natural structural enrichments, in a larger exercise den, to enrich her daily life and encourage her natural bear behaviour. Every day she practised her “wild bear skills” such as digging, foraging and climbing. These skills are essential for survival in the wild. Wawa slowly adapted to her new surroundings.

​On 17th November 2016, Wawa took her first and brave step out onto the ground in the forest enclosure. Once she touched the ground, she could not wait to explore everything inside the forest enclosure. She has since proven that she is an explorer! She has excellent climbing skills and is one of the most adventurous and outgoing bears in the BSBCC. She is superb at exploring and investigating both the enrichment and the environment. She explores, plays, climbs and rests in the forest. Wawa is vigilant. She is aware of her surroundings. When a stranger is gradually approaching her, she will give a warning bark or even chase them away. She gains strength, confidence and develops her independence. After six years of rehabilitation in BSBCC, she now has the opportunity to live in the wild again!

​On 25th February 2022, our resident veterinarian, Dr Yeoh Boon Nie, assisted by the bear care team, conducted a final check-up on Wawa. After that, we transferred Wawa to a translocation cage, and her keeper cared for her wellbeing by closely monitoring from sedation to recovery. At 11.55pm in the midnight, the night sky was clear. The team loaded the cage onto a vehicle. Everything was ready! The bear release team and Wawa were set off for the forest reserves.

After few hours drive, we finally arrived. The sky was still dark. Wawa looked alert in the cage. The team wait for the sky to turn bright. The team then inspected the release site and made final preparations. When everything was ready, the moment finally came. Once the door opened at 6.29 am, Wawa ran out from the cage and soon she disappeared into the deep forest. It was an emotional moment to see her being released into the wild. The real freedom now belongs to Wawa. We hope she enjoys her new adventure in the wild. Her movement will be monitored via satellite collar by the BSBCC team. Stay wild, Wawa!

​Last but not least, the BSBCC wants to thank the Sabah Forestry Department, the Sabah Wildlife Department, Yayasan Hasanah, Yayasan Sime Darby and everyone who has been following and supporting us. We can't do it without you. The pandemic covid-19 has affected our centre and caused a huge impact on our income from ecotourism and this is expected to last much longer. Your help will allow us to sustain our cause to promote sun bear conservation in Borneo through animal welfare, conservation, rehabilitation, education and research, giving captured sun bears a better home and restoring their right to live in the wild. Your support will make a difference in the life of the sun bear! Every little bit counts! For more information, please visit our website at: https://www.bsbcc.org.my/index.html.

We were honored to receive a visit from the CEO of Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD) or Sime Darby Foundation, Dr. Hjh. Yatela Zainal Abidin, and a few of YSD Officers as a part of YSD’s visits to projects supported and funded by Yayasan Sime Darby in Sabah. YSD has been becoming the backbone of BSBCC since the early days of BSBCC and has supported BSBCC numerous times for the past few years.
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The group's arrival at the Centre was warmly greeted by the Founder and CEO of BSBCC, Dr. Wong Siew Te, and the team. They were personally guided by Dr. Wong to watch the sun bears residing in BSBCC forest enclosures, filled with information sharing among the two sides. The YSD’s group was also brought to take a closer look and witness the daily routines in the bear houses and were guided to the new shop building afterward. The visit was finished by 5 pm.

The Movement Control Order (MCO) due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak which started in March 2020 hindered the entries of foreign visitors, bringing the tourism industry to a stop, thus affecting the Centre’s main revenue. Yayasan Sime Darby has spent a big amount of budget to fund the Centre’s operation and support it to go through a hard time. No words can describe how we are deeply grateful for the support given during the time. Thanks for everything Yayasan Sime Darby!
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