Outreach Programme in Sandakan,Beluran and Telupid.
It all begins with an idea.
The BSBCC education team visited 3 district within one week which is Smk Beluran on 7th April 2016, SK Gabungan and SMK St.Mary Sandakan, SMK Telupid in Telupid, Sabah on the 14,15 and 16 April 2016.
Teachers, students and parents were very welcoming to the EE team which comprised of several organizations including BSBCC, HUTAN-Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Programme (HUTAN-KOCP) and Sabah Wildlife Department.
Awareness of the environment and wildlife is an issue which should be reasonably considered. Knowledge, skills and values as well as positive attitude towards the environment can be developed through environmental education. To create a generation that is more environmentally aware, students should be given information on the importance of preserving and conserving the environment.
We were very happy to have the chance to share our knowledge and experience of working with Sun Bears to the students! All of the students enjoyed their time learning about the environment and wildlife species from the talk, exhibitions and educational activities. We hope that they can gain more knowledge on the importance of protecting the environment and our precious wildlife species.
Educational Activities - Outreach Programme (March - April 2016)
It all begins with an idea.
BSBCC’s outreach programme continued to run actively throughout March and April 2016. During these months, BSBCC’s education team visited 17 schools in 6 different districts within Sabah which were Sandakan, Kota Marudu, Kota Belud, Lahad Datu, Beluran and Telupid.
Visiting new districts
Visiting the schools in Kota Marudu, Kota Belud and Telupid for the first time was enlightening for the team. Every district in Sabah has its own unique ethnicity and cultural background. Interacting with these students from the Dusun and Bajau tribes was interesting. With their substantial knowledge about the wild animals that exists around them made them more enthusiast to learn further about these species. The team’s approach on wildlife conservation may be different than that of what they have learnt about their wildlife growing up.
Many tribes in Sabah were hunters and some still hunt to sustain their lives apart from farming and fishing activities. The education team hopes that through these activities, the students can be aware of the importance of protecting our wildlife.
BSBCC has been working closely with several organizations for its outreach programmes including HUTAN-Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Programme (HUTAN-KOCP), Sabah Wildlife Department and the Environment Protection Department (EPD). This year, Reef Guardian, an organization that manages the marine conservation area in the archipelago of Sugud Islands Marine Conservation Area (SIMCA) joined our team. Our awareness programme activities has expanded and now includes the protection of our marine wildlife and environment. Visiting schools with a team of passionate people has brought learning about wildlife and the environment more fun, enjoyable and effective for the students.
The team was grateful of how welcoming the teachers and students were during our visit. The schools, with the support from the District Education Department provided the opportunities for these students to spend their school sessions to learning about their precious wildlife and habitat.
Outreach programme at SMK Beluran
On the 7th April 2016, BSBCC organized an outreach programme for the first time in the Beluran district. SMK Beluran, one of the middle schools in the district town was very excited to have our team conduct the programme. As the team arrived the school in at 7am, the students were already gathered at the school hall. A few teachers were standing at the front of the hall, welcoming for our arrival.
The organizations that joined us during the programme at this school was the Sabah Wildlife Department and Reef Guardian. The school had their students conduct the opening ceremony of the programme before we began our talks, quizzes and environmental games.
Table 1: List of schools visited for outreach programme in March and April 2016.
Mr. Rayner Anthony presenting his talk about Reef Guardian’s work in protecting the marine wildlife.
The students and teachers also get to interact with the team members at the display booth, where they can learn more about the works of each organizations.
Apart from learning about our terrestrial wildlife, many of the audiences were eager to discuss about issues on our marine ecosystem. This may relate to the close proximity of Beluran town along the river and the livelihood of the surrounding community where many were fisherman. Involvement of Reef Guardian and Sabah Wildlife Department were very helpful in the issues discussed.
The team ended the programme at 12pm with a closing ceremony and presentation of souvenirs from the team to the school. The success of the programme can never be achieved without the collaboration from SMK Beluran, Beluran District Education Office and all organizations involved. Many thanks from Bornean Sun Bear
Conservation Centre.
Kala is not a lonely bear
It all begins with an idea.
Text by Seng Yen Wah (Intern Student from University Malaysia Sabah)
Photos by Chiew Lin May
Kala was bought by a person who with the intention of saving cub on Kalabakan-Sapulut Road near Maliau Basin and then the owner surrendered her to the Sabah Wildlife Department’s Wildlife Rescue Unit. When she arrived at the BSBCC, she was weak. This may cause by the early separation of Kala and her mother. A small cub usually will stay with her mother until 2 to 3 years old. What is the reason will cause a mother to separate with her own cub when they are still in a very young age? The answer is, they had been killed by poachers in order to poach the cute bear cubs. We will say that, the overload cuteness of bear cubs is a horrible curse for them. Kala may have a horrific early life, but now she is growing up and starting her new happy life in BSBCC.
" HELLO" - Kala and Ronnie
Kala used to stay with our other sun bear cubs Boboi, Tan-Tan and Kitud. However the way Kala played made her little to no friends and the other little bears did not like to play with her. After Kala moved from the quarantine to bear house, she had to stay alone. And in order to find some companions for Kala, bear keepers were trying to integrate Kala with our sub-adult group, the bears Sunbearo, Loki, Ronnie Girl, Montom, Susie2 and Damai.
" I see you" - Kala
"Let me get closer" - Kala
The integration between Kala and the sub-adult group was closely monitored to see whether Kala could be integrated with this group or not. If one of the bears in sub-adult group could not be integrated well with Kala, it usually means the integration within the entire group does not work. One has to bear in mind the integration is not simply putting bears together, it is also depended on their age, weight and sex. Their age and weight have to be similar, if not the worst case scenario would be the smaller bear could be injured or during the integration.
Moreover, if the condition of any bear is of lesser healthy, the integration may have to be halted to prevent the spread of disease etc. that may cause other bears illnesses eventually.
" Can I come and play with you?" -Kala
" I’m ready to play! " - Ronnie
Starting any integration, 30 minutes of time spent together is seen as the limit. Later, if they play well with each other, the time of the integration periods can be extended. During the integration, bear keepers have to observe and if needed step in. Before any integration starts, at least 2 buckets of water and a fire extinguisher are ready and prepared in close proximity of the observing bear keepers. So, in case of any aggression, the bear keeper can step in and use the water or fire extinguisher to separate the aggressive bears or stop aggressive behavior. If the situation becomes worse a loud horn can also be used but we see this as a matter of last resort because the sound might cause other bears distress. The ultimate separation tool in any case of aggression is the use of a water jet to separate them. All actions during the integration sessions are carefully recorded by observers in an integration form.
" Why don’t you see my canine? " - Sunbearo
" See my canine !" - Montom
The integration for Kala is having an additional purpose, which is let Kala learn and eventually know how to play with other bears. Most of the time, Kala is the one who first enters to other bears cage. She loves to play by moving backwards without looking who she is actually with. And Kala is a very playful bear, she likes to play fight, to chase and run after other bears. However to be honest, Kalas play is really rough, she often paws and snaps after other bears. And hence, Montom, Ronnie Girl, Sunbearo and Susie2 reacted aggressive when they played with Kala during the very first days. The good news is, they are getting to know Kala better after they met for few times, at lately no more aggressive behavior was shown.
Please do not disturb, we are playing well here. - Loki and Kala
Montom and Loki are the ones who always approach Kala. Both of them have showed much more interest in playing with Kala. Sunbearo plays with Kala too, but not as much as Montom and Loki do. On the other side, Kala always approaches Ronnie Girl and Susie2. But, the way she plays seems not acceptable to them. Susie2 always tries to avoid Kala. Damai on the other hand is a solitary bear. She shows the least interest in playing with Kala among the group. Most of the time, she was just stays in a hammock and looking at Kala from hammock.
" This platform is so comfort, see me. Do you want to try? " - Kala
Don’t be afraid. I can be your good friend. - Loki
For now, Kala was integrated with 2 of 6 bears in one session. In the future we will try to integrate her with at least 4 of the 6 bears at one time. We are looking forward to the integration of Kala with the sub-adult group and hope she can be friends with them soon. After the little bears would not play with her, we want to find her some companion. Now she will get new friends, and is not a lonely bear anymore.
Fortnight in the Forest
It all begins with an idea.
Text & Photos by Nicola Chin
My two weeks at the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre could be described in many ways: hard work, eventful, fun, enriching, etc. Ultimately, it was a wholesome experience I have absolutely no regrets about, and I’d like to tell you about what I did there, and why it was worth it.
Full days of work were the norm, with a large range of tasks that went towards maintaining the facilities both indoors and outdoors (cleaning and fence checks), keeping the bears well-fed and occupied (food preparation, feeding and enrichment, more on that later), as well as other projects that would go towards improving the lives of everyone at the centre. Tiring as they were, me and the other volunteers could go away each day knowing that our work there made a difference.
Among my favourite tasks as a volunteer was enrichment, which involves fashioning objects for the sun bears to interact with, be it a bamboo shoot filled with tasty fruit, or a bed of dried leaves to forage through. Enrichment gives the bears things to do, and teaches them to use their senses and bodies like they would in the wild, which was always fun to watch! My other favourite project was getting to decorate the bear house walls, upon the request of Lin May, one of the bear care staff. As someone who loves art, it was wonderful to be given the opportunity to contribute to the centre with my drawing skills. I painted a series of bears engaged in different enrichment activities, and sketched some more bears in the kitchen; these were then painted by Lester, another one of the BSBCC staff.
Making Bamboo Fence
Sun bear murals
Design by me
Painted by Lester,Sabine and David
Education was another important part of the programme. I learned loads about the sun bears, their troubles at the hands of poachers, and their role in the Malaysian forests, and through an educational booth set up in the centre, us volunteers were able to impart our knowledge to the visitors there. This was difficult, because many of the visitors were simply not interested, but it was rewarding whenever someone adopted a bear, or even just went away knowing one more fact about sun bears.
The bears themselves were an interesting bunch! A handful to take care of, they were a delight nevertheless, and the bears’ individual personalities revealed themselves with time and observation. I found that it was best when I appreciated the bears as animals with wild instincts, for both their benefit and mine. But it’s admittedly hard not to call them cute when you see one lying on its back, licking the piece of peanut butter filled fire hose it has cradled in its paws!
The BSBCC team members were helpful, friendly and dedicated; it was clear that they took their respective roles as sun bear carers seriously, as shown by their attention to detail, and how they made sure that us volunteers knew what we were doing every step of the way. Our programme facilitators from APE (Animal Projects and Environmental Education) were very much the same, and I appreciate the effort they put into taking care of me, and ensuring the programme was well organised.
I joined the volunteer programme as a gap year student looking for a project, and came away glad that as a local Malaysian, I was able to play a part in the BSBCC’s mission. The efforts of the team come from noble hearts, and I would highly encourage other Malaysians to try out this volunteer programme for themselves!
Volunteer Period
Text and Photos by Julia Riverstal
Hi, my name is Julia Riverstål I am currently 18 years old and I am from Stockholm, Sweden.I am on my final year at an animal care program in Sweden at Spånga Gymnasium. It is thru my school that I have got this amazing chance to see and actually be a part of the amazing work that they do at the Bornean sun bear conservation centre for a total of 5 weeks.
In April 2015 I visited the centre for 4 days with a few others from my school and it is totally stunning to see the progress that some of the bears have been doing in less than 10 months! When I was here the first time some of the cubs were still in quarantine and to see them high up in the trees at the big bear house is just the best receipt to understand that the centre is really making a difference!
My Swedish immune system have unfortunately not handled the Bornean flora of bacteria so good so I have been sick a lot and sadly I had to stay at home for some time. But even if i were sick and had to stay at home I could still help the centre with translating a Swedish TV program about Sun bears, so at least I could do something. I have never felt so appreciated and welcomed at another place and all of the staff at the centre is just outstanding in their way of showing their appreciation and kindness to the volunteers.
Some of the things that you do is routines and are pretty much the same every day, you clean the cages, prepare the food and feed the bears. But even if you do this every day it is never the same, one day the cage is almost clean and the next day it is filled with enrichment or you just have to clean a cage where there has been a complete poop party, haha! With the feeding, both inside and outside you get a perfect chance to see that everything is good with the bear, not being interested of food is a big indicator that something is wrong. Of course it is just a blast to see the bears playing around trying to crack coconut or to see them lie on their back eating sugar pipes. In the afternoon you focus on doing enrichment and if you ask me this is the most fun thing to do, to build or make something that will keep the bear busy for a while. It is not as easy as it seems, there is a lot of things you have to keep in mind when doing this. First of all it has to be safe for the bears to play with and then you have to adjust the enrichment to the bear that you are going to give it to and I can tell you that it is a lot of different personalities in those bear houses. The last week we got to be a part of BSBCC´s educating program, I was able to talk to visitors and spread the word about the sun bears situation and what they do at the centre. Educating the people is just as important as talking care of the bears in the bearhouse and it felt really good and surprisingly I met a whole group of Swedish people!
My time at the centre has been amazing, it has been a roller coaster journey for me as a person but it has opened my eyes and given me perspective that has enriched me as a person! I have would not have changed it for anything and if someone is given the opportunity that I was given, take it, you will not regret it!
I want to thank my school, every staff member of the centre and the sun bears for this amazing journey!
A big Swedish brown bear hug from me!
// The pale, chubby and red faced volunteer ;) <3
Doing bamboo feeders!
I the making of a table for the quarantine and also the result with a Thye lim on top!
Insects, huge insects!
Very sleepy sun bear!
Hungry sun bears!
Some of my new friends.
The weather that welcomed me back to Sweden…
Memorable 5 weeks at the BSBCC
Text and Photos by Emelie Siippainen
My name is Emelie and I am a student from Stockholm, Sweden. I study animals so that I can become an animal keeper one day. My school gave me the opportunity to travel to Borneo and volunteer at the BSBCC and off course I took that chance! Ever since I was a little kid I loved animals, actually the first job I ever wanted was being a farmer because I wanted to milk all the cows. That dream soon developed into a life of loving animals and being an environmentally conscience person.
The first day at the sun bear center I was super nervous but very excited. But after meeting the BSBCC team I felt much better and quickly realized I was finally there, for the amazing bears. I got used to the daily routine quickly and started to learn the names of all the bears. During the first days the work was a bit challenging and very physical, but after a couple of days things got easier and easier. I got to do everything from cleaning the indoor enclosures to giving the bears porridge, fruit and corn, like a real bear keeper. In the afternoons we were working on enrichment projects. I loved the enrichment project time, I found it fun to come up with ideas and use my imagination to challenge the bears. After giving the bears the enrichment, I could have stayed and watch them for hours! It was so much fun being a volunteer in Borneo!
Also the climate was a huge change for me; Borneo is hot and very humid, whereas in Sweden it is cold and grey. And the food is so different. But just to be able to come to a country, live there and be a part of different culture is amazing! Everyone is so friendly and happy all the time, there is never a dull moment. I absolutely want to come back and met everybody again, and especially the bears. The work that is being done at the BSBCC is not easy and it is not cheap, the entire team has to deal with pessimists that are questioning them and the work that they are doing all the time. But their purpose is to preserve the sun bear and to educate the public about them.
Charlie, Me, Filippa and Julia preparing some enrichment.
Charlie, Me (Emelie) and Koo with our bamboo enrichment.
I spent 5 weeks in Borneo at the BSBCC working with these amazing animals. I have learned so much, not just about the sun bears but also about conservation work and what I can do to make a difference. It is a once in a lifetime life changing experience. I have met so many wonderful people and I had a blast working with the staff at BSBCC.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank BSBCC for having me as a volunteer and the staff that helped so much during my period of volunteering. I hope that Centre will create greater awareness and educate the public about the sun bear.
Filippa, Harith, Charlie and Me out for a ride to collect dry leaves for the bears.