RESCUE BEAR 59

ROMOLINA

YEAR OF BIRTH: 2018

SEX: Female

MEANING OF NAME: The name was given by the person who rescued her. She was named after the Romol village where she was rescued from.

IDENTIFYING MARKS OR TRAITS: She has an un-symmetrical chest mark which looks more like a necklace.

HISTORY: The owner claimed that they found a cub alone in the forest and he took her then kept her as a house pet, where she was confined in a tiny cage. Bob Hartley and Virgil Joon Gunting got knowledge about this cub and quickly helped save the cub from a villager by negotiating with them to hand over the cub. She was rescued from Kampung Romol, Sapulut, in the interior division of Sabah and was handed over to the Sabah Wildlife Department then sent to the BSBCC on the 7th of July, 2018. During the arrival, she was tiny. She weighed only 5.95kg. She was subsequently found to be malnourished, her bodyweight reflected her malnourished state and she showed signs of stunted growth (small body with some of her teeth being permanent teeth) as a result from improper diet (rice, cereals, sausages and fruits) and being confined in a small cage which restricted her growth.

REHABILITATION PROGRESS: On 20th April 2019, we introduced Romolina to the other sub-adult bears: Dodop, Wawa, Mary, Noah and Nano, but she only liked playing with the male bears. She growled and chased away the female bears. On 13th August 2018, Romolina enjoyed her newfound freedom in the forest. It was a fresh start for her after spending her life in a small cage when she was young.

Romolina is an active, agile and independent bear. Being the only female in the group, Romolina is dealing well and getting along with the male bears: Logan and Joe. It was seldom to watch Romolina having an argument or fighting either with Logan or Joe. Interestingly, Romolina is one of the excellent tree climbers at BSBCC.. Visitors can witness her amazing ability, especially during the afternoon, which means during nap time. There are few trees that she considers her favorites. She will climb one of those trees and have a nap for at least one to two hours. During this time, our visitors were able to see Romolina in a close-up view by using the spotting scope, provided and assisted by our staff on duty at the observation platform. 

ADOPTION PROGRAMME: Romolina is available for SHARE BEAR adoption.