RESCUE BEAR 64

ITAM

AGE: 3 Years Old

SEX: Female

MEANING OF NAME: The name is given by her owner. Itam means black in Malay language.
 
HISTORY: Itam was originally from Kg Maimatom, Kemabong. She was found in an orchard at Kg. Kuala Sabinait, Pagalungan, Nabawan on the 3rd of June 2020. The owner of the orchard heard his dogs were barking and then he found a bear cub without a mother bear beside her. At that time, Itam had appeared weak and was found with some dog bite wounds on her. The owner decided to rescue the cub. After keeping her for 21 days, he decided to surrender Itam to Sabah Wildlife Department on the 24th of June and she was kept at the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. Itam came to the BSBCC on the 27th of July, 2020. Unfortunately, we found that she has a severe dental problem during her general body checkup. Her stress-related behaviour - cage biting may have been the cause.

On her arrival, she was weighing 11 kg. Itam is a pretty bear. She has a shiny coat and a unique chest mark. Itam is not fussy about her food, her favourite are milk, egg and fruits.
 
PERSONALITY: Itam is very alert to her environment. Sometimes she can be frightened easily. She likes to observe. She always keeps her eyes wide open to observe her surroundings. Once she feels threatened, she charges and warns others to stay away. Most of the time, Itam is shy. She always keeps her movements low and cautious. She enjoys every little thing, such as a small branch or a soft towel. She loves to rest on the platform. The hammock is her favourite place to stay. She is always peeking from the hammock. She isn’t bothered when you keep a distance from her. Itam always looks up and looks as if she has many thoughts in her head.
 
Things became better when Itam integrated with Kipaku on the 30th July, 2020. The first meet was not pleasant. Itam tries hard to approach Kipaku every time. Due to Itam’s fearless efforts and countless tries, they began their lovely friendship. Now, Itam always follows behind Kipaku. They always play fight with pawing and wrestling. On the 25th December, Betung joined her and Kipaku. Itam is so thoughtful and gentle to Betung. This made Betung like to play with her. We are happy that she is improving day by day. We believe that she will grow stronger and learn forest skills that could help her to survive in the wild in the future.