Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre

http://www.nst.com.my/latest/habitat-loss-and-poaching-threatens-survival-of-sun-bears-1.283981#ixzz2U1Kiromo

SANDAKAN: Habitat loss and poaching have led to a decline of up to 30 per cent of the Malayan sun bear population in the last three decades, according to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC).

In Borneo, this smallest of the world’s eight bear species is also seeing a drop in numbers following their illegal capture for the pet trade and when they are wrongly perceived as pests and gunned down, said BSBCC founder and chief executive officer Wong Siew Te.

The Polar Bear, Brown Bear, American Black Bear, Spectacled Bear, Sloth Bear, Giant Panda and Asiatic Black Bear are other better known bear species.

Found throughout mainland Asia, Sumatra in Indonesia and Borneo, the exact number of sun bears in the wild is unknown, making it even more pressing toreduce pressure on a species that is classified as “vulnerable” on the IUCN(International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List, and at risk of becoming endangered unless circumstances threatening their survival improve.

Sun bears are also classified as a totally protected species under the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997, providing it the same status as the Orang Utan and the Sumatran Rhinoceros.

Wong said the sun bear was divided into two sub-species – the Helarctosmalayanus malayanus and the Helarctos malayanus euryspilus, with the latter, smaller bear found only in Borneo.

“In other words, sun bears in Borneo are even smaller than the sun bears found in other parts of Malaysia and the region.

We hope to share with more locals how fortunate we are that such a unique bear is found here in Borneo, and right here in Sabah,” he said in a statement.

He said the shrinking forest cover made poaching and capturing of wild bear seasier due to increased contact with human settlements.

“Our centre is now holding 28 rescued bears. Some were illegally kept as pets and others were trapped in the forest, and sent here.

“Bears here are trained to adapt to the forest within an enclosed area as some have never been in the wild, having been kept as pets from a young age. They are then evaluated to see if they can be released into the wild,” he said.

The centre is located adjacent to the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, here.

“In Borneo, sun bears continue to face threat from habitat destruction and poaching. We need to protect the remaining forest cover if we are to secure the future of the sun bears and, at the same time, eliminate any poaching of these bears in the wild,” Wong said.

He said awareness activities would be stepped up once the centre was officially opened to the public, tentatively by early next year.   — BERNAMA

Read more: Habitat loss and poaching threatens survival of Sun Bears – Latest – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/habitat-loss-and-poaching-threatens-survival-of-sun-bears-1.283981#ixzz2U5JxJsxD

Text by Gloria Ganang

Raising environmental awareness to children through storytelling about animals. A brilliant approach for kids to understand about the importance of environmental protection. Joyce Malmo, author of this book volunteered in Borneo and went through tough experiences. This has changed her perspective about the world around her and she was inspired to share the amazing environmental stories to the children.

Teachers, guardians and parents out there, check out these amazing animals stories and share them to the children. It also features the story of one of our bears, Susie!

This book is currently for sale as an “eBook” as starter to generate enough fund to publish in paper format. Joyce is very kind to donate 10% of the sale to BSBCC for our education activities.

You can purchase this book online through this link:

http://www.story4environment.org/home/

Sneak peak on the story of Susie the sun bear featured in this book

Saturday March 30, 2013

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=%2F2013%2F3%2F30%2Fsouthneast%2F12896396&sec=southneast#.UVaa_JPOw-I.facebook

 
BSBCC’s youngest resc ued sun bear: Damai, a seven-month-old cub, is seen chewing off decayed wood to look for termites to eat. She was found in a residential area in Damai in November 2012 by a businessman who found her wandering on his porch. Damai was then sent to the Lok Kawi Zoo before being sent to BSBCC.

WITH a distinctive pale horseshoe-shaped imprint on their chests coupled with their cute and cuddly disposition, it is easy to understand why anyone would fall in love with the Malayan sun bears.

Despite the fact that sun bears are a protected species, some unscrupulous people hunt them down for their body parts which are consumed for medicinal purposes while the cubs end up as pets. Over the years, this practice has tragically depleted the sun bear population.

Sun bears (Helarctos malayanus) are the smallest and least known members of the bear family and their population is rapidly diminishing in South-East Asia.

With the support of Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD), the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) in Sepilok, Sabah, has been working hard to right the wrongdoings of mankind. BSBCC has been rescuing sun bears which have been kept as pets and caring for them with the hope of releasing them back into the wild in the future.

BSBCC is a non-profit organisation initiated by the Sabah Forestry Department (SFD), Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) and a non-government organisation, Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP), in 2008 to look after the plight of captive and orphaned sun bears in Sabah and to promote conservation efforts.

In 2012, YSD allocated funding of RM2.1 million for the BSBCC. A major chunk of the funding is being used to renovate an existing bear house and to construct a second bear house where the rescued sun bears will be relocated.

YSD’s sponsorship also includes the construction of a visitor information centre and opening the BSBCC to the public, which would provide financial sustenance to the BSBCC.

YSD governing council member Caroline Christine Russell said the foundation’s sponsorship would help rescued sun bears to recuperate and be rehabilitated in a safe and protected environment.

“When sun bears are kept and treated as pets, they grow into adulthood without learning the necessary skills to survive in the wild. YSD is highly supportive of BSBCC’s mission to rescue captured sun bears and promote sun bear conservation in Borneo. This will halt cruelty to these animals including the killing of sun bears for their supposed medicinal value and keeping their offspring as pets,” she said.

BSBCC chief executive officer Wong Siew Te said the process of catching a sun bear cub involved killing its mother.

“If the law allows sun bears to be kept as pets, it will only fuel demand which would lead to more poaching of sun bears,” he said.

There have also been instances where poachers left cubs to die, after killing their mothers for body parts. The demand for the sun bear’s bile and other parts especially for traditional medicine and even for delicacies is said to be among the reasons for the poaching and illegal trade of the species.

The Malayan sun bear has been classified as “vulnerable” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red Book Listing of Endangered Species since 2007 due to its dwindling population over the past 30 years.

Sun bears do not breed well in captivity and due to their naturally slow reproductive rate, a female sun bear may only have up to three to four cubs in her lifetime. Thus, excessive hunting or capturing of cubs can easily wipe out the local population.

It is illegal to kill or hunt these bears under the 1997 Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment and those found guilty of rearing or possessing protected species such as the Malayan sun bear could face a mandatory jail term between one month and a year.

The BSBCC is currently home to 28 rescued sun bears.

The latest addition is a four-month old female cub that was found in a housing area in Kota Kinabalu in early November last year.

For more information on what BSBCC does and how the public can help with the sun bear’s conservation efforts, please visithttp://www.bsbcc.org.my.

http://www.selangortimes.com/index.php?section=news&permalink=20130328164457-boost-for-sun-bear-conservation

Published: Fri, 29 Mar 2013

KUALA LUMPUR:  Thanks to support from Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD), the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) in Sepilok, Sabah, has been able to continue rescuing sun bears which have been kept as pets and caring for them with the hope of releasing them back into the wild in the future.

Five-year-old Kuamut walking on a fallen tree in the forest enclosure of BSBCC. The female, named after the town she was found in, was rescued in January 2009. She was found kept as a pet in a small iron-cage with two heavy metal chains with a brass lock weighing more than 2kg holding her down.

In 2012, YSD allocated RM2.1 million for the BSBCC.

A major chunk of the funding is being used to renovate an existing bear house and to construct a second bear house where the rescued sun bears will be relocated.

YSD’s sponsorship also includes the construction of a visitor information centre and opening the BSBCC to the public, which would provide financial sustenance to the BSBCC.

Sun bears (Helarctos malayanus) are the smallest and least known members of the bear family and their population is rapidly diminishing in Southeast Asia.

But despite being a protected species, sun bears are killed for their body parts which are consumed for medicinal purposes while the cubs end up as pets.

Over the years, this practice has tragically depleted the sun bear population.

BSBCC is a non-profit organisation initiated by the Sabah Forestry Department (SFD), Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) and a non-government organisation, Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP), in 2008 to look into the plight of captive and orphaned sun bears in Sabah and to promote conservation efforts.

YSD governing council member Caroline Christine Russell said the foundation’s sponsorship would help rescued sun bears to recuperate and be rehabilitated in a safe and protected environment.

“When sun bears are kept and treated as pets, they grow into adulthood without learning the necessary skills to survive in the wild. YSD is highly supportive of BSBCC’s mission to rescue captured sun bears and promote sun bear conservation in Borneo. This will halt cruelty to these animals including the killing of sun bears for their supposed medicinal value and keeping their offspring as pets,” she said.

BSBCC chief executive officer Wong Siew Te said the process of catching a sun bear cub involved killing its mother.

“If the law allows sun bears to be kept as pets, it will only fuel demand which would lead to more poaching of sun bears,” he said.

The Malayan sun bear has been classified as “vulnerable” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red Book Listing of Endangered Species since 2007 due to its dwindling population over the past 30 years.

Sun bears do not breed well in captivity and due to their naturally slow reproductive rate, a female sun bear may only have up to three to four cubs in her lifetime.

Thus, excessive hunting or capturing of cubs can easily wipe out the local population.

It is illegal to kill or hunt these bears under the 1997 Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment and those found guilty of rearing or possessing protected species such as the Malayan sun bear could face a mandatory jail term of between one month and a year. For more information on what BSBCC does and how the public can help with the sun bear’s conservation efforts, visit http://www.bsbcc.org.my.

Text by Chiew Lin May
Photo by Gloria Ganang and Chiew Lin May

Climbing is a skill most often associated with primates, but sun bears are also arboreal. They often climb trees in order to forage for food, protect themselves from predators or to rest and sleep on the branches. Wong Siew Te, our BSBCC’s CEO and Founder refers to sun bears as “forest engineers” because sun bears can climb trees and dig into beehives at the top of the canopy to get honey. The empty and abandoned beehive then becomes an important new habitat site for other animals such as hornbills.

A 8 months old sun bear cub, Damai has explore the forest and is very curious of the many new and exciting things that surround her. She is a very good at climbing trees. Every time we walk her in the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve Sabah, she practices how to climb trees or liana (long-stemmed, woody vines). When in the tree she spends her time digging in search of insects and playing or resting in the tree anopy, just like a wild sun bear would ! Once she started climbing the trees, she will keep climb higher up of the tree and did not bother us. Now Damai can climb more than 5 meters high !!

Sun bear cub, Damai learns her tree climbing skills in the forest.

You may wonder what is it that makes Damai such a good climber? Many of the sun bears features are adapted for a tree – dwelling lifestyle. She has extremely long, sharp and curved claws that are perfectly adapted for climbing trees. Inside the sun bears claw have a piece of bone that gives strength to the sun bear when climbing. Her claws help her to get a grip on the tree bark and she uses her powerful claws, limbs and padded feet to go up tree. She can also climb down from tall trees supported by her claws. As she climbs up and down the trees, her muscles continue to grow stronger!! Thus, the presence of a sun bear can be detected by their characteristic claw marks on the bark of trees. The sun bears small body size and their ability to rotate their front limbs just like a primate also assists them to climb. Amazing, indeed!

Look at her long sickle-shaped claws that help in climbing !!

Hugging the tree with her front limbs also assists in tree climbing.

Damai is very playful and adorable.

Damai climbs the vine and hangs upside down to lick ants.

Damai found a comfortable liana to relax on.

Awesome!! Damai climbs so high and then tries to break twigs.

This is Damai’s claw mark found on one of the wood-feeding termite tree.

By Wong Siew Te

Stuarts Point Pre School always has a special heart for sun bears ever since I was introduced to their director Erin Chapman last January by a close friend of Erin who visited BSBCC earlier and shared our stories. They would like to do more and to help sun bear. A Sun Bear Project has been initiated in the preschool. The project “hope to raise awareness of the tremendous efforts of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) and to make the little know Sun Bear famous in Stuarts Point and Scotts Head!!!” You can read more about Stuarts Point Pre School and their sun bear project here: http://enhancedlearningspps.blogspot.com.au/p/our-sun-bear-project.html

The very first sun bear project was to introduce the sun bears to the children:

Tuesday 29th January,

Today we introduced the little known Sun Bear to the children, we drew their attention to the Sun Bear’s special markings on their chest explaining how the markings look like a sun. We also told the children about the Sun Bear’s plight and of how the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Borneo helps rehabilitate rescued Sun Bear’s who were taken from their mummy’s and put in small cages. This part the children did not like so much and asked: “Why did they get taken?”

http://enhancedlearningspps.blogspot.com.au/p/our-sun-bear-project.html

Teaching the children to draw a sun bear is not as easy as its look!

Few days later:

“Thursday 31st January,

Today we continued exploring sun bears… We have found it difficult to get some children to relate to the sun bear… so today we tried sparking their interest by viewing images of sun bear teddy bears and then inviting the children to participate in a guided drawing experience…”

http://enhancedlearningspps.blogspot.com.au/p/our-sun-bear-project.html

On Thursday 21st February, the preschool did a “Sun Bear Fundraiser” by selling “Grub cakes” and “Ant slice”

http://enhancedlearningspps.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/sun-bear-fundraiser.html

With all the hard works from the teachers and children, they sold all of their cakes for the day and had a success fundraiser experience!

 On Monday 4 March. 2013, the children had a “skyping the sun bears” experience with me. After the children built and painted a sun bear rainforest habitat in the school, they managed to have a skype with me at the observation platform of BSBCC. The children got to see the sun bear “live” from BSBCC forest enclosure (although the bears were far from my laptop and the images of the bear appeared to be small). The children were excited to see me and the sun bears on their computer. I am having a lot of fun answering the questions that the children asked:

Charlotte: “Do the babies have big yellow marks on their chest too?”
Aiken: “Do Sun Bears build tree houses?”
Matilda: “Do the Sun Bears bite?”
Malu: “Do they have spikey hair”
Asher: “Why do the Sun Bears get locked in cages?”

……

Using my laptop and my 3G connection for internet, I managed to skype the children from Australia!

Answering questions from kids is always fun

The images and voices from the sun bears were spread across the world through skype. Thanks to the technology, additional group of children know more about sun bear and their plights.  They will grow up knowing more about the sun bears and the conservation issues about the rainforest of SE Asia.

We hope we could do this skype call more often with each other.

I hope other school across the world can also “visit” us, “see” the sun bears “digitally” at BSBCC and learn more about the sun bear.  Even better, visit us “physically” next year when we officially open to the public!

Slowly but surely, sun bear the little known bear in the world will become a well known bear!

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/22/two-rare-malayan-sun-bears-found-in-abandoned-cambodian-garment-factory/

By Agence France-Presse
Friday, February 22, 2013 9:15 EST

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2013/2/25/lifeliving/12587245&sec=lifeliving

Monday February 25, 2013

By LIM CHIA YING
star2@thestar.com.my

Bear necessities: Friends Katie McDonald (left) and Anna Marie Zarb in their sun bear costumes, shortly before they took the Loony Dook challenge along with other participants.

Two English women brave freezing waters to raise funds for our Bornean sun bears.

ARMED with nothing more than a spunky heart and a genuine concern for animal welfare, two friends braved the icy waters at an annual dip event to raise funds for Bornean sun bears.

Katie McDonald and Anna Marie Zarb, who both hail from England, participated in the New Year’s Day Loony Dook challenge held at Scotland’s Firth of Forth, the estuary in which River Forth meets the North Sea.

The event drew participants, both young and old, who took a leap of faith by plunging into the icy depths of the firth as a novel way of celebrating the New Year.

A conversation between two pals over drinks during Christmas break in 1986 sparked off the idea after one of them suggested dipping in the firth to clear their hangovers! When more friends took to the idea, Loony Dook was thus born, and is now celebrated in a much more boisterous manner than in the past.

People come from around the world to join in or be a spectator, and over time, the participants have also made the dip a fundraiser for charities of their choice. Part of the fun lies in some of the bizzare costumes that participants don.

To reflect the charity they picked – the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Sabah, Malaysia – McDonald and Zarb made online purchases of outfits which they later modified to look like that of a sun bear with its unique yellow chest patch.

So what motivated McDonald and Zarb to raise funds for an NGO that is nearly halfway around the globe from their home country?

“I was in Malaysia for a few years and saw that it is such a beautiful country. There’s such an amazing biodiversity, but the ecosystem is fragile and many of the animals are threatened,” said McDonald, 28, in an e-mail interview.

“During my stint in Malaysia, I worked closely with a number of wildlife and conservation-related organisations. It was tough having to single out one particular project to raise funds for. I felt that the work carried out at Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre covered a lot of important areas which included animal welfare, wildlife rehabilitation, habitat preservation, public education and research. I also like the idea of bringing awareness of tropical animals and conservation to a different part of the world.”

For Zarb, 34, the plight of animals is a subject close to her heart, and she is happy to help any animal charity, regardless of its location.

Both women are currently pursuing a Masters of Science in Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare at the Edinburgh University, which was how they met.

“Loony Dook is a part of Hogmanay (a uniquely Scottish New Year celebration that dates back to olden times) and certainly seems like fun!” said Zarb.

On the day of the event, the weather was sunny. Despite that, they could still feel the chill while waiting for their turn to jump in.

“We had no idea what the water temperature would be like, only that it would be cold! The thought of a good cause helped us overcome the temperature anxiety!” said McDonald.

“Anna decided that the best strategy was to scream and run in, so that was what we did and after a few seconds, we kind of lost feeling anyway! All around, there were stewards from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution stopping people from going too deep as a safety measure,” said McDonald.

The duo stayed in the water for a couple of minutes, accompanied by a quick swim.

“At the end of the day, we know that it’s BSBCC and the sun bears that are benefiting, so it was worth braving the cold!” added McDonald.

In mid-December, she had put up a posting on a social networking site to share what she was doing, to raise a targeted sum of £200.

“We wanted to raise greater awareness about sun bears in the hope that more people would think about them and find out more about this little known but fascinating animal,” said McDonald.

“I have visited the centre several times as I used to work for a company which brought groups of school kids to Sabah.

“One of the projects we undertook was making enrichment toys for the bears; we learnt about their natural behaviour and the ecology of the species. All the centre’s personnel were so supportive of the students. They were happy to share their knowledge and passion for sun bears.

“The centre’s founder, Wong Siew Te, is a leading expert, yet he always has time to spend with visitors and share everything he knows about sun bears, the smallest among eight bear species. It’s a fantastic centre and a great place to learn about sun bears and conservation,” said McDonald, who recently helped to raise funds for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, as well as Save the Children, a global organisation working to help children get access to food, education, healthcare and human rights.

To learn more about the sun bears, visit the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre homepage at www.bsbcc.org.my/.

http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2013/02/22/malaysian-bear-suspected-of-dying-of-poisoned-fruit-had-rowdy-youth/

February 22, 2013, 7:54 PM

By Celine Fernandez

The bear suspected of dying this week after eating poisoned fruit at a zoo in southwest Malaysia had been caught about a dozen years ago after disturbing crops and farmers.

New details emerged late this week about “Lala,” a sun bear who is believed to have been about 14-to-16 years old at her death. When workers at the Malacca Zoo and Night Safari saw her foaming at the mouth and in convulsions, her mate, Kiki, was hovering over her.

Police have a suspect in the case – an unidentified former owner of another zoo. Police say the man – who is also accused of poisoning a retired race horse at the zoo Sunday – was pursuing a vendetta because he was angry that his zoo had been shut down due to alleged animal negligence and had its animals taken away. Neither Lala nor the race horse – which was being housed at the zoo by a private owner – had been at the other zoo, according to authorities.

Tests are being conducted on samples taken from Lala and the horse to aid in the investigation.

“The sun bear was caught and placed in [the zoo] because it damaged crops and was a threat to the safety of farmers,” Zaaba Zainol Abidin, a deputy director at the Malaysian Department of Wildlife and National Parks, told The Wall Street Journal.

The suspected poisonings happened only a month after worldwide attention focused on the suspected poisoning deaths of 14 pygmy elephants – an endangered species – at a Malaysian forest reserve.

The sun bear – known for a tan “necklace” on its chest – has rapidly declined in population as its habitat has been taken away by developers. But that is where its similarity ends with the pygmy elephant, which can never be legally hunted.

Three wildlife protection laws apply to the sun bear, according to Wong Siew Te, the CEO and founder of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. In West Malaysia and Sabah, the sun bear is a “totally protected” species under the Wildlife Conservation Act of 2010, which applies to all of Malaysia, and the Wildlife Conservation Enactment of 1997, which is enforced only in Sabah. In Sarawak, the sun bear is a “protected” species under the Sarawak Wild Life Protection Ordinance of 1998, but hunters can kill them with a license issued by the Sarawak Forestry Department.

Mr. Wong argues that Lala should be treated as a “totally protected” sun bear due to her death in West Malaysia.

“The penalty should be significant [to anyone found guilty of her suspected poisoning] to deter future offenders,” Mr. Wong told The Wall Street Journal in an email reply to questions.

The penalty can be up to five years imprisonment and a fine.

Meanwhile, in the suspected elephant poisonings, Raymond Alfred, the head of research at the Borneo Conservation Trust, a state-mandated non-governmental organization in Sabah, is calling for a ban on the use of chemical-based pesticides and herbicides near protected forests.

“We suspect the source of the poison could be due to the pesticide or herbicides, which is based on our knowledge of the elephants ranging, sources of food, etcetera,” Mr. Alfred said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Martin Lugu, who is leading an investigation into the deaths of the elephants, said investigators “hope to wrap it up soon.”

Tuesday February 19, 2013

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/2/19/nation/12729299&sec=nation

PETALING JAYA: The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) has sent a team headed by former Malacca Zoo director Ahmad Azahar Mohammed to investigate the deaths of a horse and a Sun Bear.

“The department is concerned over the deaths and will take action,” it said.

Perhilitan handed the zoo back to the state government on Jan 1 after managing it since it was set up in 1963. It was privatised to Konsortium KKW Sdn Bhd which comprises Koperasi Hang Tuah Jaya and Koperasi Bela Masyarakat and Wildlife Sdn Bhd. It was then renamed Malacca Zoo and Night Safari.

Soon after the privatisation, the state government set a target of attracting more than one million zoo-goers for this year, with a projected revenue of RM8mil.

The zoo attracted 750,000 visitors and recorded ticket sales of RM3.5mil last year.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said earlier this month that the new management would increase entrance fees by almost 50% to continue adding attractions.

Among the new features mentioned were animal shows, guided safari tours, a night train tour and treasure hunts.

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