From bird watching to sun bear conservation….A twenty years of journey in wildlife conservation
Category: Research, Siew Te Wong, education | Date: Jun 25 2009 | By: Siew Te Wong
It all begins at the fall of 1989 when I first came to Taiwan from Malaysia to continue by college education. I recalled it was the second day of my college life in National Pingtung Agriculture College when I saw the poster of Bird Watching Club (BWC), posted at the notice board of the 1st Restaurant, announcing its first meeting of the semester and recruitment for new members. The poster caught my attention because of the word “Bird”. At that time, I never knew there was an activity call “bird watching”. What I did know about birds was keeping cage birds for amusing or bird singing, the hobby that I have been doing for few years at that time-keeping and breeding birds. The first impression after seeing that poster was “what a COOL student club!” As always, the first feeling toward something is always the right of choice: I am going to join them!
Sure enough, Bird Watching Club at National Pingtung Agriculture College, which later upgrade to National Pingtung Polytechnic Institute, and finally Nation Pingtung University of Science and Technology, has become an important part of my two years college’s life in Taiwan. I saw and recognized my first brown shrike during a morning bird watching activity here in the campus; I did the first bird interpretation for visitors, raptor count and New Year Bird Count at Kenting National Park in southern tip of Taiwan; and get to know Prof. Kurtis Pei who was the advisor of the BWC, and of course, fallen in love with Sun Chia-Chien, my wife, all under the activities and name of BWC.
We called ourselves “Bird People” or “birders”. We carry a pair of binoculars and spotting scope wherever we were going and trying to identify every single feathered creature we saw. Through my binoculars, I saw, learned, and appreciated the beauty of nature and our feathered friends, and what the Creator has given to this world to make it more colorful and joyful. However, also through the same pair of binoculars, I saw the unlawful activities of mist netting and poaching of birds. That was the first time I was introduced to the word “conservation” and later on, “endangered species”, and then “wildlife research”.
My interest on these three topics multiplied during the two years I worked as research assistant for Prof. Pei, involving various research projects including wildlife surveys, radio-telemetry study of barking deer at Little Ghost Lake area, camera trapping, and also taking care of orangutans and other endangered species at the newly established Pingtung Rescue Center for Endangered Species.
In 1994, I quitted Pei’s lab and further continue my education majoring in Wildlife Biology at University of Montana, USA. It was considered as a “difficult task” for many people from ordinary Asian family. The same year, I met my then future academic advisor, Dr. Christopher Servheen, who was looking for a Malaysian student to conduct an ecological study on sun bears. I took the challenge and later became a mission. In 1998, I stated the field work for my M.Sc. project, studying the ecology of Malayan sun bears in Danum Valley, a lowland rainforest of Borneo. For the first time, the study revealed the mysterious life history of this little known bear and many ecological aspects of Bornean rainforest. The study did answered what I plan to answer at the first place. However, it also generated a series of desperate questions and urgent needs to do more conservation and research works for sun bears in Southeast Asia: sun bears remain the least known bears and one of least studied large mammal in Southeast Asia. Their habitat, the lowland tropical forest, is disappearing at alarming rate due to illegal and unsustainable logging, human development, and large-scale conversion to agriculture land, especially into oil-palm plantation in Malaysia and Indonesia.
In 2002, I started my doctorate program at the same university. In view of there were so much unknown about sun bears and issue with logging, I decided to study the effects of logging on sun bears and bearded pigs at Danum Valley, the same study area where I did my MSc study in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo. The three years of field started in 2005 and ended in 2008. Like most studies on large mammals, the fieldwork has face tremendous challenges and difficulties. We sweated, bled, cried, and even lost our life working in one of the harshest place on the planet.
Although the focus of my studies was on wild sun bears, I never forgot about the unfortunate condition for captive sun bears that I came across over the years. These captive sun bears were all in desperate needs of help from us. These bears were kept as pets because of their cuteness when small and relatively small size. They were all kept in small cages, unhygienic environment, and in some places were completely disgusting! Some were cubs, some were full grown adults, and some were old individuals. All of them suffered from serious stereotypic behavior, pacing all day long if there were any room in their tiny cage for them to pace. Seeing these bears in these captive conditions were completely heartbroken. However, I choose to find them, see more of them, and learn more about the stories behind them. This is how the idea of Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, BSBCC, first came in to my mind. BSBCC is the conservation project that I am working now in Sabah (http://sunbears.wildlifedirect.org/). The centre aim to conserve, to research, to introduce and to educate the public about sun bears and their plights. In short, BSBCC is one of the very first project in the world to help sun bear and to raise awareness to conserve this forgotten bear species.
Sun bear like most wildlife is forest dependent species. They simply cannot survive outside the forest. My experience working in Southeast Asia shows desperate situation for the continuation and survival of both wildlife and local forests. Much more work is needed to ensure the long-term survival of the native wildlife and forests. In many parts of Southeast Asia, the tropical forests are disappearing rapidly to a point where too late to do anything. In contrast, due to the economy and political stability, Malaysia still has a chance for conservationists to save the last stronghold of Southeast Asian rainforests and wildlife. We need distinguished biologists to train local students as conservationists and biologists, to educate public and government on the importance of conservation, and to study the flora and fauna in order to understand better its functions. I am and I was, trained as an “animal expert” or wildlife biologist for all these years. I hope to use these knowledge and training to do a great job in my career to conserve wildlife and forests.
The conservation history of Taiwan has come from a long way from a country where the word “conservation” and “animal welfare” never seem to exist about 20 years ago when I first came to Taiwan, to a conservation model country in Asia. Like my own experience in conservation, it all begin from bird watching and the efforts of “bird people” growing big and strong. I am honored and proud to be a family member of Bird Watching Club, which celebrates her 30th anniversary last year. Today, bird watching no longer simply a “watching birds” activity. In stead, it has become an important starting point to promote conservation, improve environmental quality, and conserve wildlife and wildlife habitat. So next time when we do bird watching with a pair of binoculars or a spotting scope, make sure that we see more than just the birds in the scope. We should see what lies beyond the pretty birds; we should see the wildlife habitats, the environment, and future of their kind and our own kind and how can we do to bring a better future for ALL of us! Lastly, we all should take actions accordingly. We have only one planet, one life, and one time to make things right.
Please join me. Together, we can make a difference!
Tags: bird watching, conservation, Siew Te Wong, sun bear
Wong’s on the road…..
Category: BSBCC, Fund raising, Siew Te Wong, conservation, education | Date: Jun 22 2009 | By: Siew Te Wong
In the next few days I will embark a trip to eastern US to give talks on sun bear and their plights at different zoos that supported my sun bears works for the past many years.
The title of my talks will be:
“The ecology, conservation, and plights of the sun bear: how are we going to save this little bear?”
The followings are the information of these talks:
Minnesota Zoo www.mnzoo.org:
Date: Monday, June 29th, 2009.
Time: 12 pm – 1 pm
Venue: Minnesota Zoo’s Indoor Theater (located next to Guest Services).
13000 Zoo Boulevard, Apple Valley, MN 55124
Brookfield Zoo http://www.czs.org/czs/Brookfield/Zoo-Home
Date: Thursday, July 2, 2009
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Venue: Discovery Center Orientation Theater, Chicago Zoological Society (for zoo staffs volunteer only)
Bronx Zoo- WCS http://www.bronxzoo.com/
Date: Wednesday July 8th, 2009.
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Venue: 2nd Floor conference room at – Center for Global Conservation
Columbus Zoo http://www.columbuszoo.org/default.aspx:
Date: Thursday, July 16th, 2009
Time: 4:30 pm, Venue: Pavilion 3, Columbus Zoo
Menu: hamburgers; veggie burgers; sides; dessert; drinks
RSVP to Becky at 3409 or Rebecca.Rose@columbuszoo.orgby July 9th - space is limited.
In addition of these 4 talks, Alexander Abraham Foundation and LEAP have co-organize a fund raising for Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center on Thursday, July 9 -8 pm, hosted by Nancy and Arnold Moss in New York City. Please RSVP or get more information from Brienne Walsh brienne@aabrahamfoundation.org.
Tags: conservation talks, sun bear, zoos
Sun Bear Conservation Weekend at Rare Species Conservation Centre, Kent, England
Category: Fund raising, SBCT UK, education | Date: Jun 19 2009 | By: Siew Te Wong
By Anna Cocker (Sun Bear Conservation Trust)
The Rare Species Conservation Centre in Kent, England hosted a very successful fundraising event on Sunday 24th May and Monday 25th May 2009.
The event which was co-organised by the UK-based Sun Bear Conservation Trust (SBCT). This event was part of the endeavour to raise funds for sun bear conservation in South East Asia. Visitors at the centre had the opportunity to indulge in a selection of homemade cakes, including gingerbread bears, play the tombola and buy a range of bear goodies such as teddy bears and handmade sun bear cards, as well as plants. Visitors were also made sun bear aware by educational talks by Wai-Ming Wong (Sun Bear Conservation Trust member and PhD student) and leaflets on sun bear conservation. BBC Radio Kent joined in the action and interviewed Fiona McInally (Sun Bear Conservation Trust member) about sun bear conservation. In total, £278.48 was raised.
The two Cambodian sun bears play fight at RARE Species Conservation Centre.
Our table full with toys, tombola (you know what it is?) and many other goodies
Fiona and her cake table- yummy cookies, gingerbread bears, cake, etc., all to raise money for the bears!
Tags: Fund raising, Rare, SBCT, sun bear
Are you Homo sapian?
Category: education | Date: Jun 17 2009 | By: Siew Te Wong
Are you Homo sapian? If you claim you are, then you have to spend 1 hour and 30 minutes of your life watching “HOME”- a documentary of a planet that we call “HOME” to learn what have we done to our HOME.
Do not blink, do not talk, just listen carefully to every single words in the documentary. Please pay special attention at the 49th minute about what is happening to Borneo.
This is serious issue. It is a matter life and death, not just to Home sapian, but every single life forms that share this planet Earth that we all call “HOME.”
You are either watch HOMR from here, or go to http://www.youtube.com/user/homeproject.
Please tell your other H. sapian friends to watch it as well. I am sure you the 1:30 hours of your life will be well spent!
Tags: HOME, planet Earth
UPM Vet Students Doing Practical in BSBCC
Category: BSBCC, education | Date: Jun 16 2009 | By: Siew Te Wong
Last April, a group of post grad students from University Putra Malaysia (UPM) visited to our centre to learn more about sun bears conservation, research and management. One month later, two UPM vet students also chosen BSBCC as a place to carry out their practical training. Mellissa Aw and Lim Seik Ni are the fourth year vet student. During their three week practical in BSBCC and Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, they were assigned to various jobs and duties from preparing the food, cleaning the cages, helping out in the clinic, to making a new cement floor for the bear!
I am glad to hear from Mellissa one evening where she said: “no doubt working at the bear centre is tiring, but I enjoy it very much”. Yes, as a keeper, I understand that there are nothing can be so rewarding to see your animals have a pleasant and comfortable place to stay and enjoy their toys or enrichment. We all reckon their hard work in our centre and really appreciate their care to the bears.
At last, BSBCC hopes that both Seik Ni and Mellissa had learnt something, gained their experience and share with their friends when they go back to UPM. BSBCC would also like to wish them have a very successful future.
Mellissa and WaiPak were preparing food for our bears.
Collecting leaves for the bears was one of their jobs.
Seik Ni and Mellissa were helping Dr Cecilia to do medical check up for Gutuk, the oldest bear in the centre.
The very important daily routine: cleaning the bear cage.
The Alexander Abraham Foundation visit BSBCC
Category: BSBCC | Date: Jun 11 2009 | By: Siew Te Wong
The following posting was written by Brinne Walsh, Executive Director of the Alexander Abraham Foundation. Brie visited several sites and project supported by AAF in Sabah early this month including BSBCC.
**********
By the time we reached the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, the sun was high, and the day was hot. We interrupted the Sun Bears during their siesta, asleep in their baskets. The first bear that greeted us was Suria, the baby of the group at the Centre. She came immediately to the front of her cage, and sniffed us out. After three days in the rainforest, I’m sure we smelt terribly, but it didn’t seem to scare her off. It was hard not to reach in and rub her head, despite her long claws. She was so adorable.
Our guide was Wai Pak, the head keeper at the Conservation Center Centre. He works for Wong, who is one of the sole crusaders working to save the Sun Bears in Southeast Asia. At the Centre, Wong and his staff care for orphaned Sun Bears. Currently the twelve Sun Bears are trapped in their cages all day, as there is no place for them to be re-introduced into the wild. Many of them, including Suria, have only walked free for a few hours in during their brief lives. Their stories are heartbreaking.
Wong wants to change the situation for the Sun Bears under his care. He has very bold plans to build up the Conservation Centre, which will allow the Sunbears to roam free in natural rainforest enclosures. Currently, the building is only in the first stage of construction. Wong needs to raise a lot more money before he can complete his plan. His work is incredibly important. I hope that I am able to help him raise not only money, but also awareness for the Sun Bears in New York, and around the USA.
Brienne Walsh
Executive Director
The Alexander Abraham Foundation
Arrest of Cambodians highlights rising poaching concerns in Malaysia’s protected areas
Category: poaching | Date: Jun 10 2009 | By: Siew Te Wong
Arrest of Cambodians highlights rising poaching concerns in Malaysia’s protected areas
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 26 May 2009—Three Cambodian poachers with a stash of Wild Boar and argus pheasant meat, agarwood and snares have been nabbed by the National Parks and Wildlife Department (Perhilitan) at their hideout in a forest reserve in Malaysia’s northern state of Perak.
The trio was part of a larger group of seven men who had been poaching protected species in the Bintang Hijau Forest Reserve in Ulu Lawin, near the town of Gerik.
Perak Perhilitan director Shabrina Mohd Shariff said the department deployed a team of 15 enforcement officers on Saturday after a tip-off.
“My men managed to catch three of them while the rest slipped into the forest under the cover of darkness,” she told the press.
The seven, who had earlier hunted the protected animals in the forest, were resting when they were surprised by enforcement officers.
Officers seized 9.5 kg of smoked Wild Boar meat, 1.9 kg of smoked Wild Boar meat with heads, ribs and limbs, 1.4 kg of argus pheasant meat, 2.6 kg of agarwood and a sack full of argus pheasant feathers.
They also found 52 snares of various sizes, four machetes and three axes.“TRAFFIC applauds the department and urged it not to stop at catching poachers, but to follow the trail to the illegal wildlife traders they supply,” said Julia Ng, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia’s Senior Programme Officer.
“These traders must also be caught, prosecuted and handed out the maximum permissible fines, as they are the ones that fuel the demand for wildlife from the poachers,” she added.
Poaching in protected areas is an issue of increasing concern in Malaysia, and the high market value of agarwood, known as gaharu in the Malay language, is often the reason for organized groups spending long periods in the forest, feeding themselves on whatever wild animal species they can capture.
Areas like the Bintang Hijau Forest Reserve where the Cambodian poachers were arrested are home to many threatened species such as Sumatran Rhinoceros, Clouded Leopard and Sambar deer.
The area is also is an important tiger landscape as outlined in Malaysia’s National Tiger Action Plan and it is not the only area being targeted by poachers.
The State of Perak which lies in the north and borders Thailand has already seen several arrests of poachers in protected areas this year after authorities stepped up enforcement efforts.
On 15 January, officers from Malaysia’s Anti-Smuggling Unit detained two Thai nationals attempting to smuggle seven Pig-tailed Macaques from a forested area in Bukit Berapit, near the Malaysia–Thailand border. They were sentenced to a MYR4,500 (USD1,282) fine or two months jail each.
On 4 March, three more Thai nationals were caught with several protected birds in Felda Kelian Intan, in Pengkalan Hulu district. The case is now before the courts.
In operations on 28 and 29 April in Sungai Mendelum, which lies within Perak state’s premier park—the Royal Belum Forest Reserve—authorities also uncovered poaching camps and confiscated six wire snares.
WWF-Malaysia’s previous surveys in Perak have also found signs of local and foreign encroachment and poaching along highways that provides the access points into such forest complexes
Cute sun bear cubs
Category: BSBCC, captivity, sanctuary | Date: Jun 06 2009 | By: Siew Te Wong
Two endangered Bornean sun bear cubs have been introduced at the San Diego Zoo. The twin cubs were born at the zoo on Oct. 25 and made their public debut on last March 17. Read more about them at http://sunbears.wildlifedirect.org/2009/03/19/endangered-bornean-sun-bear-cubs-make-public-debut-at-san-diego-zoo/.
The mother of the twins, Marcella, came from our facility at Sepilok, Sabah almost 10 years ago. She has been a good mother and produced few cubs since she moved to San Diego Zoo. All of the Bornean sun bears in US zoo were all originated from Sabah at Sepilok before we established Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. We hope they could be the ambassadors for their own kind in US to raise awareness and tell people across the world who came to see them in US’s zoos about their stories and plights.
Tags: conservation, cubs, sun bear
Sun Bear visits the dentist
Category: captivity | Date: Jun 05 2009 | By: Siew Te Wong
As I was looking for materials to post on the blog, I found this video on Victoria the sun bear receiving dental treatment at Taronga Zoo, Sydney Australia. I thought it might be educational for people to see a sun bear and the process of “sun bear visit the dentist.” Enjoy!
Victoria the Sun Bear who was originally rescued by Free The Bears Fund (www.freethebears.org.au). This is an excerpt from “The Zoo” screening on Channel 7 last year.
Tags: dentist, sun bear, Taronga Zoo
Conserving Sabah’s sun bears
Category: BSBCC | Date: May 26 2009 | By: Siew Te Wong
The following article was published in the Timber Malaysia, Jan-Feb 2009 issue, the magazine published by the Malaysian Timber Council. This is surely a big step toward showing supports and recognition on BSBCC by the Malaysian government. Thank you MTC!
Sabah has expended significant effort and resources to establish sanctuaries for endangered wildlife such as the Orang Utan, Sumatran rhinoceros, Borneo pygmy elephants and Proboscis monkeys. In yet another commendable effort, Sabah is establishing a rehabilitation and conservation centre for sun bears.
Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Musa Aman, said that Sabah’s sun bears are one of the world’s eight bear species, and noted that research has shown Borneo, particularly Sabah, to be amongst the last few habitats for sun bears. He added that the state wants to protect the mammal, which is considered a unique species.
“Conservation efforts must include getting them back into the wild,” he said at a fund-raising event held recently for the establishment of the RM1.2 million conservation centre in Sepilok, Sandakan. He added that another major task is to raise awareness on this little-known animal.
Known as the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC), the facility will be the first of its kind in Asia. It is being jointly developed by Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD), Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) and a non-governmental organisation, Land Empowerment of Animal and People (LEAP).
The centre will provide opportunities for research on the animal apart from serving as a focal point for studies on sun bears in Asia. It will also be developed as an educational and awareness facility as it is located next to the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre and the Rainforest Discovery Centre.
Spearheading the project is sun bear researcher and conservationist, Wong Siew Te. A local non-profit company, Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre Sdn Bhd, has been set up with Wong as the CEO. A Memorandum of Understanding between SWD, SFD and LEAP was signed in November 2008.
Construction work, to begin in March 2009, is scheduled for completion by end-2009. According to Wong, the establishment of the centre will be carried out in three phases with phase one costing RM1.1 million and RM1.5 million for phase two and phase three.
An enclosure will be built under the first phase, which can house 20 sun bears. The second phase involves the construction of an observatory platform, exhibition centre and a gallery for visitors to view the sun bears in their natural habitat. For phase three, a second bear house will be built. Phase two will commence in early 2010 and be completed within six months while work on phase three will start in the later part of 2010.
There are presently 12 sun bears confiscated by the SWD and housed at its facilities in Sepilok. “The centre is crucial for the survival of the bears as there is no appropriate facility in Sabah to shelter the number of sun bears rescued by SWD from captivity or after they have been left orphaned,” he said.“Even though the sun bears are kept in captivity, they can gain access to the natural forest to enjoy life in the wild once the centre is completed.
This innovative project aims to provide a holistic approach to the conservation of the Sun Bear, combining improved facilities for captive bears with increased public awareness both at the local and international levels. Perhaps most importantly, they can be released back into the wild after being rehabilitated,” concludes Wong.
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Borneo News- WWF urges action to protect Borneo rhino's habitat - AFP
- Orphaned Baby Orangutans Signal Need for Change in Borneo - findingDulcinea
- New centre to tap the MICE market - Malaysia Star
- Qantas Jet Plunges 800 Feet in Turbulence Scare - FOXNews
- Carbon Trading Seen as Key to Borneo's Preservation - Voice of America
