Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre

By Amanda Shia, BSBCC volunteer: Feb 18-March 31, 2013

April 9, 2013

One of the question laid in my volunteer’s application form was, “What do you expect to learn by the end of the program?”

That was two months ago. Frankly speaking, I knew nothing of managing, ecology or morphology of neither sun bears nor anything about them except for a general fact they are the smallest species of bears in the world. I went on volunteering for experience, for knowledge, to simply drop that barricade bricks of limited knowledge and take in information in, to discover more through volunteering under 6 weeks.

Welcomed by Gloria and Dawn on the first day! To be introduced to Thye Lim that gave induction on routines in the bear house and safety procedures to follow. In the bear house, formally introduced to David, Beyri, Lin May, Julian, Tommy and Azzry. Everything and everyone was new to me, and astonishing to know out of all the volunteers, I was the second volunteer from Sandakan to be volunteering there.

Daily tasks that revolve around the sun bears are food preparation, cleaning cages, feeding and making enrichments. With routines, practice to be efficient in those tasks gets easier. Trust me when I say that cleaning the cages were not difficult. It was built equipped with water basin and a basket for the bears to sleep. With their diet that consists dominantly by fruits, their faeces are not that smelly, amusingly the faeces are colour-coordinated sometimes.

It was a privilege, to be in very close proximity with the fluffies and cuties. It was a great opportunity to know more about the sun bears more than books can offer from the staffs. Throughout the period I was lucky to observed and be there for ‘little miracles’. The moment when Rungus stepped outside of fenced forest enclosure in Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) for the first time, followed by her group mate Natalie, Julaini and Ah Lun. Integration between Bongkud with other sun bears such as Rungus, Natalie and Julaini as well as Fulung. The youngest sun bear, 8 month-old Damai climbing tall trees and got used to sleeping on trees. These little ephemeral joys are so important for the sun bears as well as the centre, because  these are phases that prepare them and nurture their natural skills to survive in the wild by climbing trees, foraging and digging into soil and logs;  a chance for each of them to ‘be a sun bear’.

It was challenging and entertaining making enrichments for the bears. It was challenging by training up muscles I never thought I have by carrying heavy stuffs, unbolting and bolting, carrying bamboos, walking up a long distance around the forest enclosures and so on. It was one of those days I can proudly said “Yes people, I cut tyres.” The staffs and we volunteers made so many enrichments ranging from 2 different swinging tyres, 2 hammocks, swinging log, bamboos stuffed with fruits, a big water basin and more. The entertaining part was where sun bears played with them. It was enjoyable; having Fulung do a Cirque du Soleil stunt while swinging on the rope of the tyre swing. Mamatai is one of our favourite sun bears in the centre. With her cute stumpy figure, she tried to climb on the swinging log and to rest there is just pure adorable, even hopped inside the tyre swing!

Volunteers Ann and Amanda bolting the hammock swing.

Dawn and Ann also tried to make another hammock for the bears.

Tommy and volunteer Jeo Soon had to replace blunted saw blade 3 times to be able to cut the tyre into half!

Tommy and volunteer Jeo Soon had to replace blunted saw blade 3 times to be able to cut the tyre into half!

I had the fair share of cutting tyre too, with Louise (right).

I had the fair share of cutting tyre too, with Louise (right).

A stumpy figure of Mamatai. That won’t stop Mamatai from climbing high swinging tyre! – Photo courtesy of BSBCC

Fellow volunteers at BSBCC: (left to right) Steve, Ann, Thomas, Amanda, Louise, and me

Have a photo together with the other volunteers on my last day – Jeo Soon, me, Amanda and Thomas.

Have a photo together with the other volunteers on my last day – Jeo Soon, me, Amanda and Thomas.

It was a blessing, to meet incredible staffs. Right from Wong, to staffs Gloria, Wai Pak, Dawn, Thye Lim, Lin May, bear keepers David and Beyri, general workers Julian, Azzry and Tommy as well as volunteers who walked in to help the centre. They have been the backbone of the centre; taking responsibilities to care the welfare for the bears, and they have been a great help in guiding me throughout the volunteering period. They made volunteering so much enjoyable rather than a burden. They are dedicated staffs, as well as lovely friends.

It was like a mini travel pocket, getting to know volunteers who came from around the world in one similar aim like mine. Both Steve (UK) and Ann (Belgium) carried young spirits, never dimmed or hesitated in getting their hands down and dirty making hammocks and swinging logs. Amanda Pauli (US) and Thomas (UK) are wonderful people who dedicated their career helping out children, utilising their break by volunteering around.  Lee Jeo Soon (Korea), a to-be vet doctor; does not mind breaking a sweat making enrichments under the hot scorching sun. Louise, a great company to be for everyone and surprisingly enjoyed cutting tyres the most. I had fun with everyone; get to know them more from their respected countries.

Figure 2 from Top (Clockwise): Dawn, Amanda Pauli, Thomas, Louise, Lin May, Thye Lim, Wong, Jeo Soon, Me and Gloria. – Photo Courtesy of BSBCC.

Figure 2 from Top (Clockwise): Dawn, Amanda Pauli, Thomas, Louise, Lin May, Thye Lim, Wong, Jeo Soon, Me and Gloria. – Photo Courtesy of BSBCC.

The last day:Everyone! Except Wong who left for Singapore and Thye Lim (the photographer)

The last day:Everyone! Except Wong who left for Singapore and Thye Lim (the photographer)

Until the very last day, I left the centre knowing so much and learnt a lot about how conservation works and needs more work and awareness to come by before opening for public to visit. It is kind of sad to miss out more of the sun bears’ development like Damai and progress of stepping out into the enclosure for the first time, as well as being steps away from being candidates for release. These achievements I will miss, but I will come back to visit to catch up soon.

These respected staffs are dedicated to their work to bring this developed centre a safe haven for the rescued sun bears. Not only for saving their population an endangered species, but a second chance to live. They top that off with tasks creating a global awareness of the little known bears. What they do need aside from funds and donations are the local volunteers. At first I thought it was a privilege and unique to be one of the first locals to volunteer. Now that I think about it, local people should take part by volunteering to not only aware the existence of this species in our beautiful Borneo land, but to acknowledge them, protect them by being against poaching or body parts trade, and be in any way of help to tell, share, spread word. By being hands on and practical to conserve at the centre, locals will be more impacted and realize that one man’s action could do so much to help.

Text by Gloria Ganang & photo by Tee Thye Lim

The kids from the ISS International School have selected the BSBCC as one of their destinations for their Borneo trip. Thanks to APE Malaysia, we managed to team up and get these kids to learn about the importance of enrichment for sun bears in captivity.  A total of 29 13-14 year old kids involved and they were accompanied by their 4 teachers.

It all started with an introduction talk about sun bears and the BSBCC.

Introducing the BSBCC

Then the students were brought to the platform and the bear house to do a pre enrichment observation on the bears. In other words is they get to see how the bears behave without any enrichment given.

Then, the fun part! ENRICHMENT MAKING!!

Materials for making enrichment

The kids were briefed about “safe enrichment for sun bears” by Thye Lim

Eliminating plastic tapes from the cardboards

Staples aren’t safe for the bears

The bears would love these in their enrichment

“What should be made out of these egg trays?”

Using ropes made of natural fiber to tye up enrichments

Spreading bits of herbs and spices on a ginger leaf

Everyone is so focused

Looking good!

Everybody managed to complete their enrichment in 20 minutes (thats fast!). They did a very good job in creating them using the provided materials (cardboard, egg trays, various kinds of herbs & spices, beans, ginger leaves, hessian sack etc).

The bears could smell their “toys” from afar as the kids were bringing them closer. They were curious and couldn’t wait to check out whats coming ahead. Everything was quickly ripped apart, however the bears continued to check out every remain pieces until the end of the day. Not forgetting the macaques that shares the forest enclosure, they got entertained by the enrichment as well.

It was another interesting day for the bears at the BSBCC as these enrichment were different from the daily enrichment provided by the BSBCC staff. Thanks to the ISS kids, you all definitely made a difference.

Not forgetting your kind donations to the centre, we really appreciate them!

ISS kids presenting their donations to BSBCC

Text and photo by Tee Thye Lim

“Is the Koala a bear species?”
Asked our Project Manager, Wai Pak to the primary school students of SK. St. Gabriel who visited our centre on the 23 Oct 2012.

Wai Pak giving a short briefing to the SK St. Gabriel students
before they were brought in for a tour at BSBCC.

“Yes, because it looks like a bear!”
A little girl raised up her hand and answered.

“No! Koala is not a bear!”
A little boy refuted from the opposite side. The argument continued for about 3 minutes until Wai Pak announced the answer.

“No, Koala is not a bear species, it is a type of the Marsupial, same family with the kangaroos” said Wai Pak.

The different facial expressions of the students after learning
that the Koala is not a bear

Most of the kids have an idea of a sun bear. They’ve  seen it on TV programmes, perhaps on the internet, however not in a natural environment.

Some of them also mentioned about the local TV programme, TV3 which aired  a documentary about BSBCC last week end: <Sunshine in Sepilok: Tales of the Bornean Sun Bears>

Later, knowing that they were about to see real, life Bornean sun bears, the smallest among the smallest of the bears in the world, the kids couldn’t wait.

The young generations’ curiosity of the nature is always the
best inspiration of mother Earth conservation

The SK St. Gabriel students at first did not see the Sun Bears roaming at the visible spot.

Fortunately, they were able to join the  second group of visitors on that day which was the students of the American International School of Hong Kong, guided by the Animal Projects & Environmental Education (APE) Malaysia team.

This time everyone was able to spot the sun bears. More excitingly, sun bears climbing the trees!

The American International School of Hong Kong group were then invited to watch the BSBCC documentary  <Big Dream Little Bears>.

Wai Pak giving a short introduction about the documentary

At the end of the visit, SK. St. Gabriel presented a drawing to BSBCC. It was inspiring! Thank you so much!

Wai Pak (left) and Wong (centre) receiving the drawing
from SK St. Gabriel

Also, many thanks to APE Malaysia team for your donations! Not forgetting the hessian sacks you brought us. The bears will definitely love rubbing themselves on them!

Lastly and most importantly, thank you for sparing time and efforts to visit our Centre. It was such a great opportunity for us to share the needs of this small small bear species!

Representative of the American International School group (right) handing over donation to BSBCC, represented by Wai Pak (left)

Thank you  SK. St. Gabriel!
Thank you APE Malaysia and American International School of Hong Kong!

We hope to see you again!

Text by Gloria Ganang and photo by Tee Thye Lim

The BSBCC is on its way to construct its second bear house that will be able to occupy 16 bears. This new bear house will be surrounded by a 1.21 ha forest enclosure. However, some parts of the forest enclosure are swampy and have no trees for the bears to climb. How do we make use of the space? With the help of ideas from Arkitrek and hard work by the Raleigh International volunteers, our future enclosure is now equipped with a playground for the bears.

Check out these pictures!

Hanging bridge made out of reclaimed wood materials and fire hose

Making use of old tyres to walk on muddy ground

Now everyone can climb!

Perfect spot for sunbathing!

The Raleigh volunteer group who finalized the structures. You guys are awesome!

AMAZING!

The Raleigh International volunteers came from all over the world and gathered at this tropical island of Borneo to work on projects as this one. They worked with heavy tools and materials, tolerated with unpredictable weather, had countless leach bites under their socks and went back to their camp site muddy and tired everyday. However, they have done it for a good cause, which is to provided the bears with additional activities  in the enclosure. These structures can be utilized in many ways to enrich the bears. We are sure that any bear would instantly check out the structures as soon as they find it. Perhaps the roaming orang utan and macaques will do as well..or any of the BSBCC staff!

Million thanks from the BSBCC team to the volunteers! We hope you enjoyed working with us!

We would also like to thank Ian Hall, founder of Arkitrek who made this project possible. Not forgetting Arkitrek intern, Adam Brown for your dedication to guide the volunteers all the way until the end of this project.

Bear hugs to everybody!

Text by Gloria Ganang and photos by Thye Lim and Ade Kurniawan

Yesterday was another meaningful day at the BSBCC. We had an educatonal visit from a group of teens from the Anglo Chinese School Independent (ACSI), Singapore. They consist of 23 students of the age 17-18 years old, accompanied by 2 teachers. The visit was organized by the Animal Project & Environmental Education (APE) Malaysia to give the students an experience about animal conservation. The teens get to involve in hands on activities of the sun bear rehabilitation process which consists of doing pre enrichment and post enrichment behavioral observation on the sun bears at the centre.

Students observing bear behavior from the observation platform

Observing bears at the bear house

They also get the chance to do enrichment for the bears in between their observation sessions. The enrichment materials were provided and the students created the enrichment using their imagination of what would be is suitable for sun bears. This is to build awareness among students about the importance of stimulating animal natural behavior through enrichment.

Preparing enrichment for the bears

Bear enrichment!

Bear enrichment!

Bears playing with the enrichment made by the students.

Before they left the centre, our Project Manager, Wai Pak explained to the students about the bears reaction towards the enrichments they made. They were also told about the bears in the centre going through rehabilitation process and the threats of sun bears as well.

Wai Pak explaining about sun bear threats

ACSI students with APE Malaysia and BSBCC staff

Lastly, we would like to express our many thanks to the APE Malaysia team for organizing such beneficial activity for the centre especially in terms of education. Thanks to the ACSI students as well for spending time with us learning about sun bear rehabilitation!

Best wishes from BSBCC team!

Text by Gloria Ganang and photo by Dawn Tukalan & Thye Lim

The day at BSBCC on the 4th of July started with a big preparation for the Environmental Education Race (EERace) activity at the centre. The EERace is an environmental education programme held annually in the heart of Borneo districts of Sabah. It is organized by the Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC) under the Sabah Forestry Department, together with many government and private organizations. The aim of the race is to enhance and deepen teacher’s knowledge and experiences on the environment.

A team of 4 participants and 3 facilitators reached the centre at 9.30 am with no idea of what was planned for them. The first activity was the “Bear Acting” activity where the participants was placed in cages as displayed animals. The BSBCC staff and facilitators acted as visitors. They were camera flashes and food thrown from outside the cages. The participants were also ignored for a few minutes, when everyone stepped away from the cages. The purpose of this activity is to allow the participants to experience what it feels like to be badly treated by people who visits displayed animals. Later, the participants shared their experience to everyone. They felt awful and threatened of the “visitor’s” way of treating them. This unique experience encourages participants to understand the importance of  prioritizing animal feelings and welfare.

EERace participant inside the cage

BSBCC staff and facilitators throwing candy from outside the cages

Participant relaxing inside tyre enrichment.

Participants sharing their "displayed animals" experience

The next activity was preparing “toys” or enrichment for the bears. The participants were given various materials such as cardboard, ginger leaves, ropes, honey, peanut butter and many kinds of spices. They were encouraged to use their creativity to construct “toys” for the bears. They produced great enrichment and the bears loved it!

Inventing toys for the bears

Toys ready to be ripped off by the bears

Mamatai (adult female) enjoying one of the toys made by EERace participant

The participants took a brief 30 minutes break before they continued with the tour around the centre. This focuses more on sun bear ecology and the aims of BSBCC as a conservation and rehabilitation centre for sun bears in Sabah. Since the sun bear is known as the “least known” species among the bears in the world, describing the sun bear facts to the participants are fresh and fascinating. The activity ended with participants detecting sun bear claw marks on the trees along the boardwalk. We hope the participants enjoyed their half day activities at BSBCC. Looking forward for more exciting activities on next year’s EERace!

Participant found claw mark on a tree along boards walk

Wai Pak showing methods to estimate age of sun bear through claw marks on trees

BSBCC staff with EErace participants and facilitator

Text by Anna Wade

Photo: Siew Te Wong

Here at the centre, enrichment is a key focus and it is important that all of the staff and volunteers have a complete understanding of what providing enrichment entails. Over a 3 day period, BSBCC project manager’s Wai Pak dedicated his time to helping the team to understand the importance of enrichment for all captive animals as well as the importance of meeting the animals daily needs. In attendance were the 3 office staff, Gloria, Thye Lim and Dawn, 2 of the keepers, Daniel and Beyri, the 3 current bear volunteers, Anna, Miriam and Leanne and the volunteers on the travellers program… so it was quite a full room!

 Wai Pak broke the talks into 3 categories; the 1^st talk was on animal welfare, the 2^nd was on enrichment and the 3^rd was on types of enrichment, and also gave examples of when enrichment can go wrong. Everyone was encouraged to engage in the talk by asking questions and there was some very good points raised, especially in regards to what is best for our bears at the centre. Overall the response from everyone involved was very positive. As many of the enrichment ideas have already proven to be successful with the bears, it encouraged us to think more outside the box. Hopefully everyone will take what they learnt away with them and use it to positively improve the lives of the bears and any captive animals they encounter in the future. Thanks Wai Pak!!

Text and photos by Siew Te Wong

 Debbie is now a sweet bear. From a very aggressive sun bear cub (good for her to be aggressive because she needed to) when she first came to BSBCC, she is now a very sweet and mellow sun bear cub. I can touch her nose. Sometime, she would let me stroke her paw in return. For sun bear, paw touching is a very important sign of trust because they will never let any stranger touch them, especially their paw .

 After spending more than a month with us, Debbie finally trusted me for security and accepted me as a family, so to speak. Regardless of how much I do to comfort her and give her a good home, in her eyes however, I still see sadness, like an orphan losing her mother. In fact, Debbie the sun bear cub has lost her mother to poacher, and she was capture as pet.

I can watch her playing in her den for a long time. Her favorite position would be in laying down in her sleeping basket and chewing whatever enrichment toys we gave her that day. Few days ago I gave her a cardboard box. In tens of minutes, she shredded the hard cardboard box into small pieces….

Who agree with me if I say sun bear cub is very cute?

BUT, please don’t keep sun bear as pet. They are totally protected and endangered wildlife, not pet!   

 These students came from more than 10 different countries across the world. We separated the students into two groups of 20 students to ease management and logistics on the ground. Today’s program begun with an hour long lecture about sun bears and their conservation stories given by me, followed by doing an observation on our few of our sun bears who stayed in the bear house. The students were asked to record their behavior for 15 minutes. After that we talked about the idea of enrichment for these animals and asked the students to create their own enrichment items for the bears. They then record the bear’s behavior for another 15 minutes with the enrichment items that they created and compared the results pre-and post enrichment items given to the bears. The idea behind this simple, yet meaningful exercise was to let the students know the important of enrichments for captive animals. In addition, the students also got to witness how smart sun bears were when they played and figured out ways to get into the rewards- honey, fruit jams, nuts, and even canned sardines.I see hope. The future of the sun bear relies on EDUCATION!

Morning lecture on sun bear ecology on conservation.

Wai Pak brief the students on the rules;- do and don't, when they are in the bear house

The students wanted to try the feeling being lock up in cage, just like what the sun bear experienced, for 3 minutes..

Katie from APE gave a briefing on ideas behind enrichment for captive animals

The kiddos started to pick the materials for making enrichments for the bears.

some 20 minutes later, their first enrichment toy for sun bear is completed!

They are sure very proud of their toy!

Another presentation on sun bear took part in the afternoon in our AV room.

The young audiences try their best to stay alert throughout the presentation despite the comfort of the air-conditional room and the soft couch.

The kids are doing observation on the bears' behavior

A fruitful, happy but tired day for all of us!

The School and the participants give a donation to BSBCC. Thank you!