In this Monday, March 16 picture Pagi, right, a female Bornean sun bear cub whose name means “morning” in a Malayan dialect, licks her brother, Palu, who is named after a valley in Borneo, as they made their public debut at the San Diego Zoo. (AP/ San Diego Zoo)
Endangered Bornean sun bear cubs make public debut at San Diego Zoo
Associated Press Last update: March 16, 2009 – 8:38 PM
Last update: March 16, 2009 – 8:38 PM
SAN DIEGO – 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 Monday.
The zoo’s lead keeper Lisa Bryant says the cubs spent the day exploring their habitat, including scaling the exhibit’s climbing structures.
Bryant says Bornean sun bears are affectionately called “monkey bears” because they are the most arboreal bear species.
Bryant says the male is more reserved and his sister is more outgoing and curious.
The sun bear is the smallest of the world’s eight bear species, about half the size of the American black bear, according to the zoo’s Web site.
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Feb 10th Lesley S USD 20.00
5 Comments
What a beautiful photo – good to see two healthy cubs born and doing so well. Will use the photo and story when we (Sun Bear Conservation Trust – formerly BSBCUK) do presentations as guaranteed to get an ‘aahh’ from audience.
Hope the San Diego Zoo will have a sign explaining how endangered the sun bears are and it will bring awareness to the public that visits the zoo.
These two siblings are too cute!!
They are beautiful! I love bears.
But, I don’t think most zoos do a very good job of conservation or of educating the public about getting involved in wildlife conservation. I can say that because I’m a former volunteer at the National Zoo. It seemed to me that most people think as long as there are animals in the zoo then there must be plenty more of them in the wild. Zoos raise money only to maintain their own collections, rarely involving the public in fund raising for conservation projects in the wild.
My fear is that someday the only place we’ll see bears, of any species, is living in a zoo.
s.
Hi Sheryl and all,
You are absolutely right Sheryl. First, these sun bear cubs are so beautiful and cute, I totally believe you love bears! Second, most zoos in the world raise money only to maintain their own collections and rarely helping conservation projects in the wild, which is most urgent and desperate to save the species and their habitat. However, I must say that there are several zoos in the US that I know of, do more and help more than the others to conserve wildlife and their habitat.
Zoos have to transform themselves from amusement parks that display and exploit animals to be educational classrooms and be in the frontline of conservation. Beside breeding and propagating the captive population, assisting and involving with conservation projects, are essential for the success of to raise awareness, funds, and connect the wildlife and the people. Dr. Jim Sanderson wrote an article “When science hijacks conservation funding” http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0304-sanderson_commentary.html, reflex the dilemma of conservation communities for getting funding to do conservation works and be in the frontline to conserve and safe species. Today, I saw a CV from candidate who apply for a faculty position in our university. In the “honor” column, I was sock to see:
2008 European Research Council Advanced Grant, “Genomic and Phenotypic Evolution
of Bonobos, Chimpanzees and Humans”, co-author with Principle Investigator xxxxxx
(Euro2,200,000; non-transferable).
Euro 2.2 million can do a heck of conservation works for bonobos and chimpanzees, never mind the human part (as there are 6.6 billion of us)! The money can really put a lot of good and hardcore conservation works to save bonobos, chimpanzees, and their habitat in Africa that benefit a lot of other wildlife species. It will be a joke if one day bonobos and chimpanzees become extinct in the wild because (oops!) we just spent Euro2.2 billion (I am sure there are a lot more) to study their genomic and phenotypic evolution!
Sad, isn’t it? Well, ladies and gentleman, keep up the fights, keep up the good works and keep up the supports. I think one day conservationists and animals lovers will evolve into an ecological distinct subspecies of Homo sapien. However, we will be here for a little while after “everything” was gone forever!
~Wong
WE personally, sincerely, honestly, WISH that San Diego Zoo could help us – the poor sun bears at BSBCC, sun bears still in small cages that yet to be rescued, and the wild sun bears that already loss our home and will be losing our home soon, and sun bears that were killed by poachers and will be poached by poachers, and sun bears that live a tough life in the wild in Borneo and elsewhere in SE Asia.
Please help us.
from~
the poor sun bears at BSBCC, sun bears still in small cages that yet to be rescued, and the wild sun bears that already loss our home and will be losing our home soon, and sun bears that were killed by poachers and will be poached by poachers, and sun bears that live a tough life in the wild in Borneo and elsewhere in SE Asia.
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[...] 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-…. [...]