Cute Little Tenom
It warms our heart to see our beautiful girl Tenom settling into her new environment. Day by day we see her explore more, climb higher and go further away from her den. The journey is still long but we're rooting for you Tenom!
Farewell to Our Senior Keeper, David!
As the sun sets on a decade of dedication, we gather to bid farewell to a man who has been the backbone of BSBCC, our senior keeper, David. For over 10 years, David has been a guardian of our grounds, a mentor to our team, and a father figure to all our Sun bears.
As you embark on your new journey, remember that your BSBCC family is forever grateful for the years of memories, the lessons taught, and the laughter shared. We wish you all the best, David!!
MoU Signing between BSBCC & Noichi Zoological Park
On 22 Feb 2024, the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre and Noichi Zoological Park Association of Kochi Prefecture, Japan, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a close relationship to work together for in-situ and ex-situ on sun bear conservation. Dr Wong Siew Te, the Founder and CEO of Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre and Mr Yukio Hotta, General Chairman of the Noichi Zoological Park have representing both parties to sign this MOU.
We are please to have Mr Honda, co-Director of Noichi Zoological Park and Mr Motofumi Tai to be the witnesses for the signing. We hope the signing of this MOU will strengthen the relationship for BSBCC and Noichi Zoological Park to conserve sun bears in many ways. Thank you for being on board to save sun bears! Noichi Zoological Park does what they do best to help sun bear!
Kg. Dagat Community Field Trip to Sepilok, Sandakan
On the 21st to 23rd of February 2024, BSBCC organised a Community Field Trip from Kg. Dagat Kinabatangan to Sepilok Sandakan. We already reached out to this community in January 2023 to give them some exposure to wildlife conservation. About 20 participants, including 2 students of SK Tidung joined in this field trip. They were brought to visit the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, and Rainforest Discovery Centre. The purpose of this field trip is to enhance their understanding of the groundwork of governmental organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in protecting wildlife species and their habitat.
Special thanks to WWF-Malaysia for their sponsorship of this programme. Also, to Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre and Rainforest Discovery Centre, Sepilok for the guided tour throughout the visit. Not to forget the community of Kg. Dagat Kinabatangan for their involvement and making this trip a success.
Another Day in the Forest with Tenom
What an eventful day today! Tenom experienced many different things today - climbed almost 5 metres up a tree, found ants at the base of a dead tree and had a cool down in the tiniest pool of water.
We love seeing her explore and learn in her natural environment.
Tenom’s First Walk in the Forest
Today is the day our team has all been looking forward to! After countless tiring nights, meticulous planning, and unwavering effort, we have finally arrived at this pivotal moment: walking Tenom through the forest for the very first time.
Tenom, now approximately 11 months old, has grown into a feisty and independent sun bear since her arrival. From the outset, she has shown a strong preference for forest foods, particularly termites and other insects. Her love for climbing knows no bounds, and she spends a significant portion of her time exploring the heights of her night den independently.
Earlier this month, Tenom was transferred to the Tabin Sun Bear Project base camp, where she became the candidate for a soft release project that has been in development for quite some time. After several weeks of careful observation, she has acclimated to her new surroundings. And today, her dedicated caretakers took her out to explore the surrounding forest—an event that filled the team with both excitement and apprehension.
Given Tenom’s curious nature and previous trial walks at BSBCC, we knew she wouldn’t respond to her name being called like some of the other cubs we’ve worked with. Our concern was that she might venture deep into the forest reserve, never to be seen again.
But we are thrilled to share with all our supporters that the first exploration session with Tenom was a resounding success! As soon as she stepped out, she immediately explored the area, wasting no time in scaling the nearest tree. With her caretakers watching closely, she climbed every available tree and even stumbled upon a log teeming with termites on her own—a delightful find for a sun bear! Remarkably, she fearlessly attempted to conquer a tree twice her size.
During the observation period, her caretakers allowed her some space to exhibit her behavior. To our delight, even in her excitement, Tenom would occasionally glance back at them, ensuring she stayed within a reasonable distance. This behavior reaffirmed the strong bond she has formed with the team.
As the day drew to a close, Tenom returned to her night den following her caretakers, leaving us with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Our little sun bear is indeed “born to be wild,” and we eagerly await more adventures as she continues her journey in the forest.
Moving forward, our plan is to continue bringing her out so she becomes accustomed to the forest environment around her. Eventually, we’ll take her further to explore and develop the survival skills necessary for life in the forest reserve. Our goal is to ensure she becomes confident and independent. This is just the beginning of Tenom’s journey, and we are fully committed to the success of this project.
A heartfelt thank you to each and every one of our supporters for giving us the opportunity to dedicate our best efforts to rehabilitating our sweet baby Tenom:
Yayasan Hasanah, Kementerian Kewangan, Yayasan Sime Darby, Bask Bear Coffee and Planet Wild.
Smart Girl, Panda!
Sun bears are known to be equipped with their strong teeth and large sickle shaped nails that help them easily tear open tree barks and even coconuts open.
Panda has a different approach Here is Panda cracking open a coconut by hitting it against her platform stairs. Smart girl Panda!
Giving our bears coconuts as an enrichment item allows them to be stimulated mentally so they avoid being bored in captivity. It also counts as a delicious snack for a hot, sunny day.
Thank you to Yayasan Hasanah , Kementerian Kewangan and Yayasan Sime Darby for always supporting us, allowing us to provide many enrichment items for our bears. Panda surely loves hers
Fulung the Sun Bear Climbing a Tall Tree
Sun bears live in the rainforest with an average canopy height that reach 50m and the tallest tree that reach 100m. They evolve to utilise this unique resource not only to see better on tall tree, but also sleep high from the forest floor. They can also find a lot food on tall trees. Today Fulung has climbed 30 m off the ground to have a nap!
Lazy Afternoon with Cerah and Jelita
Lazy afternoon with these two besties - Cerah and Jelita. Spotted these two chilling out at their usual spot in Pen A
CLC Ladang Luboh Visit
Thank you CLC Ladang Luboh for visiting us today! We hope they learned a lot from the visit and will help spread awareness to save the sun bears.
Ready to plan your school trip? Email us at info.bsbcc@gmail.com
Best Lives for Our Rescued Sun Bears
Sun bears in the wild are opportunistic omnivores that live in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. They use their long claws and tongues to find and eat a variety of foods, such as fruits, insects, honey, and small animals. Sun bears are especially fond of figs and stingless bees, which they can smell from far away.
Here at BSBCC, we provide a variety of fruits and vegetables in their diet. We also provide them with enrichment items like termites, dead logs with ants and seasonal fruits. Feeding times and spots are randomised to allow the bears to forage for their own food naturally.
As always, a big thank you to Yayasan Hasanah , Kementerian Kewangan and Yayasan Sime Darby for supporting BSBCC, allowing us to ensure the best lives for our 44 rescued bears.
SK Ladang Bode Kretam Visit
Thank you, SK Ladang Bode Kretam, for visiting us today! They managed to see seven sun bears roaming in our forest enclosures. We hope they had a great time here and gained some knowledge about sun bears. Together, we spread the word to save the smallest species of bear in the world! See you guys again!
MoE and MoTAC visit to BSBCC
Today, we welcome an official visit from the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (MOTAC). The visit was part of a visit to development projects funded by MOTAC. Dr. Wong Siew Te was excited to give a brief introduction about BSBCC and share the past, current, and future development plans of BSBCC with the delegates. A tour to the observation platforms was done after the briefing, and they managed to see a few sun bears roaming around the forest enclosure.
We would like to extend our gratitude to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture for their support and funding of our centre. Together, we help promote ecotourism and wildlife conservation.
Thank you Yi Ning and Zi Ying
A heartfelt thank you to Yi Ning and Zi Ying for volunteering with us the past 2 weeks. Your commitment and contributions have truly made a mark on our team and sun bears we care for. We hope that you guys have learnt a lot about the Bornean sun bear and we wish you guys the best for your futures!
Big bear hugs,
The Bear Care Team
Itam
After a whole day of heavy rain and floods in Sandakan yesterday, the team was a bit worried about Itam as she decided she wanted to sleep in the forest last night. The fence reading was dangerously low due to the water levels rising quite rapidly, flooding our Forest enclosure 2.
Her keepers came back at night to check up on her but to no avail. She is a hide and seek champion! There were signs of her coming back to her cage and eating her bananas so we knew that she was still in her enclosure safe and well fed.
Today while doing some enclosure maintenance, Itam decided to show her face! Maybe she knew her caretakers were worried so she peeked at them from between the tall ginger leaves, gave a little sniff and went on her way again. You do you Itam
KAFA Madrasah Kem Tentera Visit
A warm welcome to KAFA Madrasah Kem Tentera, Sandakan. The students were excited to see Romolina, the sun bear, climbing up a tree and managed to complete the worksheet given.
Wildlife Dental Workshop in Sepilok Clinic
The 5 days marathon of the Wildlife Dental Workshop in Sepilok Clinic was a success! Our 11 sun bears that received the treatment are doing very well with all maintaining good appetites. Fortunately, certain foul smells of the oral cavity disappeared right away after the dental treatment. Dental health in captive wildlife is significant in animal welfare, contributing to overall health. The dental problems could be caused by previous improper diet or cage-biting behaviour.
BSBCC is fortunate to be equipped with a specialized portable dental unit and intraoral x-ray scanner with the Hasanah Grant. These equipment allowed us to examine, diagnose and treat the dental diseases at the root cause. We are very grateful to the vet dentist Dr. Cedric Tutt, that was willing to travel far from South Africa to help our bears. Dr. Cedric is such an inspiring person who is passionate to help the animals who can't speak up for themselves.
The participation from Drs. Serena (Wildlife Asia Veterinary Services), Sandy (Matang Wildlife Center), Pakee (Sunway Wildlife Park), Roopan (WWF Cambodia), Jessie (Jesslton Animal Clinic), Gillian (Loch 11 Animal Clinic) and Reza (Danau Girang Field Centre) made the workshop even more meaningful, as it boosts friendship and collaboration among different practices.
The workshop had reached the end, but our work to provide dental care to the animals continues. We have made plans to reach out to more captive wildlife organisations that require dental treatment.
"Better teeth, better health"
