Because they are small and cute, sun bear owner often keep them in a small pet cage for puppies or birds. This is the beginning of life in hell.
I once saw a bear cub in a crocodile farm in Sarawak. From a distant he looked like a puppy because she was place next to a puppy. But from my distance, she did not look like a puppy because she paced none stopped. Puppy rarely paced, but sun bear pace all the time in captivity. Her condition was a typical bear cub in captivity: malnutrition with very pale color coat, weak, dehydration, stress, and extremely nervous. I immediately put my finger into her month to let her suckle.
Sun bear cub suckle to seek comfort. It is the same reason as babies like to suck pacifier. If their mother is around, they of course nurse from their mother’s nipples, even until they reach adulthood. I once saw an adult sun bear in Singapore Zoo do that even when he was an adult.
Solitary captive bears suck on pretty much any body part that they can get hold of: hand, feet, even their own penis, vulva, or other bears’ ears, if they have a companion to stay with. They will admit a series of “ummmmmmm..” sound with their eyes half closed when suckle. This is pretty much the first thing I do when I approached a nervous captive bear cubs, let them suckle, they then will calm down quickly and slowly trusting me.
Like other animals, infant sun bears are very fragile creatures that need lots of care, attention, and nutrition. In captivity under human care, they usually receive very little of these essential elements, not to mention TLC that their mother use to give them.
Unknown number of cubs died due to improper care, simply because of these so call bear owners do not have a clue how to take care and what to feed to baby bears. Many of them were given sweet condense milk, high fruity diet like lots of papaya and banana because they are cheap. Because of imbalance diet, many sun bear babies in captivities show signs of malnutrition and unhealthy. They did not have sleek black coat, but in stead, their hairs are sparse, dull, and pale color. Many of the cubs that looks like this will not live long.
In Indonesia or Thailand, high government officials often keep bears or other wildlife to simply show off their power and status. In other region, rich people buy those cubs to amuse them. However, bears are carnivores, no matter how cute and how tame they are when young, they will eventually turn into a dangerous beast no matter what given a year or two. They are well equipped with the tools to harm their owner or anyone who are less lucky. Sometime these casualties maybe not be an intentional attack or predatory behavior, they are simply the beasts that can cause serious injuries to human during bear play fights. This is what they are after all!
(Notes: it was uneasy for me when I posted this piece after searching through my old photo files of these sun bears cubs. Looking at the photos and video clips of these babies were absolutely heart broken! They brought me to the actual scene when I found these babies.)
Donations made here are
Feb 6th Hans P USD 115.00
15 Comments
I’m heartbroken looking at these pictures too, Wong. How absolutely horrible. I don’t know how you keep control of yourself when you see bears abused like these poor babies. I don’t think I’d be so cool headed.
s.
Wong you are our hero. I know that cubs rescued for you are in good hands now. Thank you for your sensitivity and great work.
These photos were taken few years ago but remained fresh every time I look at them. To be honest, I am not a hero, not yet, I did not rescue any of these cubs because I have no place to put them and no jurisdiction to do so. This is why I want to set up the BSBCC, the first sun bear center in Malaysia so so badly so that I can rescue and helps these bears. I feel very sorry for not being able to do more to help them. I feel depressed for not being able to help them without BSBCC. I have to set up BSBCC to help them out of misery!
Lucia is right, Wong, you are a hero.
Wong — I was just at the Catoctin zoo and found out that they are actually part of the sunbear breeding program with the San Diego Zoo. One of Catoctin’s claims to fame (which I also found out about today) is that they produced the first sun bear cub ever in the US in 1969! Anyway, just thought I would pass that info along to you…the bears looked wonderful today…digging for bugs in logs and lounging in the sun.
Hi Christine,
Thanks for the information. Now I know Catoctin is related to San Diego Zoo.
Wong — just to clarify, Catoctin is not part of the San Diego Zoo system, but they are partners in their sun bear breeding program.
OK, got it Christine. Thanks for the information.
Nice website!!
Please help the sun bears in Bukit Mera Ecopark. It is terrible there. One is locked, no water, he dipps his paw through the grill in rain water and licks it up. No inviroment or broken.
Also all the other animals. Some are mental badly disturbed, infected and in a bad codition.
Please let me know what I can do.
Regards from Malaysia, Andrea
Please help me to rescue 5 sun bears from Bukit Merah Ecopark in Malaysia. It is terrible!
Andrea
Dear Andrea,
Thank you for informing me about the sun bears situation at Bukit Merah Ecopark. I will inform the authority to check out the condition of the bears.
FYI, Bukit Merah probably has the legal permit to keep those bears from the wildlife department. I need to check on that. However, due to lack of proper husbandry guidelines, regulation, and monitoring of these “legal” captive sun bears, they are often keep in a very bad condition. Your observation on these bears are a tip of an ice-burg of what is going on with the captive sun bears in this regions. Many sun bears are keep in such condition that desperately that needs helps from all of us. Unfortunately so far sun bears receive very little conservation attention and most people do not care and know them. The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre I am setting up now in Sabah is the first of its kind and the first step to help this kind of bears in Malaysia. Believe me there are many bears like these that need urgent attention and helps.
To make my case stronger, can you please provide me with more detailed information about those bears, like when did you saw them? what were their condition in more details beside what you describing to me. And if you happen to take photos of them, please send those photos to me if you could please.
Thanks Andrea! I am looking forward to hear from you soon.
Kindest regards,
Wong
this is the saddest thing in the world. sun bears are my favorite animal, and after reading this website, it made me cry. I hope people can do something about it.
from the USA,
cait
Hi Cait,
Now you know how I feel about them and have to do something to help them. Sun bears are my favorite animals too. Is sad that the whole world seem to forgetting about them. I hope my works will start making a different for them.
Wong
Hi Wong, we met at DVFC in july 2007, great work that you are doing. Would you be able to email me info on sun bears, I am working at a zoo that is going to be getting a pair of rescued sun bears in 2010, and im curious about behaviour in captivity.
Thanks
Andy