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 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 Tee Thye Lim

On the beautiful sunny morning of the 14^th August 2012, the BSBCC team started the day with a preparation for a remarkable visit of the British High Commissioner to Malaysia, HE Simon Featherstone and his family. Also present during the visit was the Council’s guests, Shire President of Boyup Mr. Michael Giles and his family, the Australian Defence Adviser and Deputy Defence Adviser as well as the new Deputy Director, Office of Australian War Graves, Canberra. Their visit to Sepilok was their first time. The BSBCC team are so honored to welcome them!

They arrived at 2pm, just in time for the bears’ 3rd feeding of the day in the forest enclosure. They were welcomed by the Officer in Charge of the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre (SOURC), Madam Sylvia Alsisto, together with the BSBCC team and a group of international volunteers.

Madam Sylvia Alsisto (right) welcoming HE Simon Featherstone and his family to Sepilok

Introducing the volunteers working at SOURC and BSBCC

Meet the BSBCC team

Their visit to the BSBCC was led by our Project Manager, Wai Pak and also assisted by other BSBCC staff. Everyone had a close view of the sun bears foraging and socializing in the forest enclosure. The staff described about the urgent needs of sun bear conservation and talked about the unfortunate background of each of the sun bears they saw in the enclosure.

BSBCC Project Manager, Wai Pak introducing the sun bears at the observation platform

After the visit to the BSBCC, the VIP visitors proceeded their visit at the SOURC which they were welcomed by a group of orang utan hanging on bamboo stems at the SOURC entrance. This is followed by a tea session with the staff. The visit ended with a presentation of souvenir to the HE Mr. Simon Featherstone. Warm wishes from the BSBCC staff! We hope you enjoyed your visit at our centre!

HE Simon Featherstone and his wife enjoying the view of orang utans hanging around at the SOURC entrance

Presenting souvenir to HE Simon Featherstone and his wife.

Text and photos by Ade Kurniawan

In the past few weeks, the BSBCC has been quite fortunate to receive two different groups of volunteers (Raleigh and Camp Borneo) to help with several construction projects in the centre (designed and supervised by Arkitrek interns, Adam Leigh-Brown and Maryam Gomary). Not an easy task as both groups had to complete their projects while battling Borneo’s sweltering heat and sudden torrential rains. Not to mention the occasional pig-tail macaque and orang-utan harassment!

Adam (in black) and Maryam (in grey), the two Arkitrek interns

Raleigh

Another group arrived on the 22^nd July to continue the work done by the previous Alpha 4 group. To recap, the Raleigh volunteers have been focusing on the construction of several large enrichment structures which will be used in the future forest enclosure. Supervised by Adam and Raleigh project leaders, these volunteers spared no time and went straight to work!

Will be part of the playground for the bears!

Climbing post built by Matthew, David and Sabrina

Yes, they dont often get to pose for cameras

Working in funny smelling mud

Obligatory photo with Wong!

Camp Borneo

In the past several weeks, Camp Borneo (part of Camps International, an organization focusing on volunteerism via expeditions) has sent two groups to help construct a compost bin for the BSBCC. With all the food waste (unused parts of fruits, vegetables, etc) produced in the BSBCC kitchen, it became quite clear that such waste could be put to good use. On top of that, they were also tasked to build a boardwalk that would lead to the future forest enclosure. These two projects were designed and led by Maryam.

Building boardwalks

Laying the framework

Framework is partially up

Another obligatory photo with Wong!

Thanks guys!

From the Raleigh Blog:

http://raleighborneo.blogspot.com/2012/07/eventful-stay-with-alpha-4.html

An Eventful Stay with Alpha 4!

Training is over and expedition life has well and truly begun! The Alpha groups all made it safely to their project sites.

I (Kate) had the pleasure of joining Alpha 4 for their first four days in Sepilok, and am happy to report that they have all settled in well, and are getting down to a lot of hard work in the Bornean Sunbear Conservation Centre (BSBCC). Here is how they are getting on so far:

After a six hour bus journey which included a stop for lunch at a local market and an on board movie(luxury!) Alpha 4 arrived in Sepilok at 1pm, the hottest part of the day. Jungle camp is not too remote compared to many other project sites, but when it’s 31 ?c and very humid, a fifteen minute walk carrying heavy kit seems like at least 10 miles! However, Alpha 4 teamed, and sweated together, and got their entire kit(which included food, tools and their own bags) to jungle camp in under an hour. With longs-o-clock approaching it was a race to get hammocks set up, the long drop dug, food organised plus showers! By 5.10pm camp has been set up and the team decided if they all had very quick, and precise 3 minute showers everyone could get washed before 6pm and spend the night feeling refreshed! The showers at Jungle Camp are of the bucket variety, i.e. one bucket, one scoop and slosh! At first the V’s were a little daunted by these showers, but over the next few days everyone was looking forward and professing their love for the bucket shower!

Sunday was spent improving Jungle Camp and making it feel like home, followed by a meeting with Ypak,the Head Keeper at BSBCC and Adam, who is an intern with Arkitrek, an architect company that will be assisting with the design and construction of the bear refuges. We all got a tour around the centre, and even got to see some Sun Bears on our very first day!

As well as Sun Bears, we also saw a group of Makaks, including some very cute baby ones. However, we were warned that they are very mischievous, travel in packs and will approach if you have any food with you. For this reason we were advised to stay together in a group, and if approached by any, call the rangers- we were no longer saying “awwww” at this point!

Work started straight away on Monday with everyone getting up at 5.30 in order to get breakfast, do a radio sitrep(situation report)and get to the BSBCC, a fourty minute walk away by 8am. The team were divided into two groups in the morning, one to reclaim wood and the other to start clearing a path in the jungle where another bear enclosure would be.

Within the firsthour, Alpha 4’s first leeching occurred, with Bernice getting one on her stomach! By day’s end she had definitely made a few firm friends, getting 4 leeches in total, with Nas following close behind with 3! The wood clearing group also had their fair share of creepy crawly surprises, coming across alot of ants, scorpions, centipedes, some stunning butterflies and a giant stick insect!

 

By 2pm, huge progress has been made, with a long stretch of the jungle path having been cleared by Jermae, Josh, Berniece, Lucy, Nas and Euan. It went from this:

To this:

After lunch it was time for a team effort. There were two very heavy bits of wood stuck in the wood piles that required a team effort to get out(the tug of war practice from Raleigh Olympics came in handy here):

 

 

 

After removing the heavy wood, everyone moved to the jungle area to help remove a log that was blocking the path. The path that had been cleared was very boggy so we needed to come up with a way to lift it rather than drag it. After a bit of trial and error with the rope, Alison came up with the successful idea of rolling the log onto a curled rope to let everyone get a hold of it. This worked a treat, and the log was removed in minutes to the pile of wood that would be used for the bear refuges.

 

 

The work continued on Tuesday, with everyone ending up in the Jungle, and much to Charlotte’s disgust, pretty much everyone experienced a leech or two!The day got quite exciting when the team spotted a snake, and then an orangutan, just metres from where they were working!

According to Nick, it was ‘the most eventful day of his life’, and this is why; the events just kept coming…

·a few celebrations for Euan’s 21^st birthday;

 

 

·A mock casevac, in which I pretended to injure my leg to see how the team would react, and to ensure that if something happened to one of the PMs that they would be able to manage.

 

·One amazing curry with fried rice made by Nas and Josh

 

·A birthday cake, with chocolate AND jam, made by Charlotte and Harriet

·And to top it all of a tropical storm just as we were heading to bed!

 

A truly eventful four days with Alpha 4!

 

I’m off to Alpha 3 next, so will have the next update from there very soon!

Text by Anna Wade, Photos by Siew Te Wong

For a very long time, the BSBCC team consisted of 4 members of staff. Wong, Wai Pak and 2 keepers, Daniel and David. But since the beginning of this year, we received funds to employ more staff and have since gained a further 5 full time employees. Joining the bear keepers is Beyri, a great new contribution to the team. Since joining the team in the beginning of April, he already has a good working rapport with the bears as well as a wicked sense of humour which makes him a favourite with staff and volunteers a like.  In the Office we have Gloria, Dawn and Thye Lim. All have strong environmental and conservation backgrounds and have already proven themselves to be hardworking members of staff. Gloria was the first to join the team in the beginning of April, with Dawn and Thye Lim starting at the beginning of May. Our last and latest new member to the staff is Kadsri, who has been employed as a general worker. This is not the first time he has worked here, as he was part of the construction team that built our new viewing platform. Kadsri is always keen to try his English on any of our volunteers and is always smiling. To celebrate the arrival of our newest members, we held an informal lunch, including volunteers, on our new viewing platform. This gave us all a fantastic view of the bears in the outdoor enclosure, and we could watch from a distance as they slept, engaged in play and climbed trees. After a lovely lunch, Wai and Wong expressed their thanks for all the hard work done by the staff and volunteers alike. After introducing each member of staff, they were presented with a ‘Save the Sun Bears’ T-shirt.  The lunch was a great way for all the staff to get together and enjoy each other’s company outside of a working environment! We hope we can do it again very soon!

Makan! Makan! Time to have the lunch at the new observation platform.

Roshan (sun bear student), Wai Pak, and Daniel having a good time serving their lunch.

There is nothing more cool than having your lunch at the same time watching the sun bears having theirs!

One by one, Wong presented our T-shirts to our staff, start with David our bear keeper.

The sun bear team is growing bigger! Wong is no longer alone!!

 By Hiu Yeat Har

March 18, 2012

Cleaning the bear droppings is not a hard job at all. Most bear poops are not stinky because the bears at BSBCC eat vegetables and fruits. Due to this ‘herbivorous’ diet, the bear poops are mostly fibre or liquid based. Tao and I do not …have problem with poops though some may think they are smelly and disgusting. Anyway, all the bear dropping are given back to the nature as natural fertilizers as we usually toss them at the nearby forest floor. We also feed some of the bears here with ginger plants as food supplement or we sometimes use them as enrichment for the bear cubs. The bears like to eat the ginger plant leaves while the stalks are not their favorite. However, we can replant the stalks and they can grow again.

March 19, 2012

 Mamatai is one of the female bears in the new bear house. Becasue her house is close to the kitchen area, so we see her more often than any other bears. I always think she has a character; she looks more like a human than a bear. I saw h…er shook the grill bar door twice. I could sense her frustration. Sometimes she just leans against the door, looking at us, telling us something that we don’t really comprehend. I wish I knew bear words, I wish I could mind communicate with her and understand her thought and I wish most she could go back to the wild and lead a normal llife. And I wish most the world is still the same as it used to be, surrounded by green and filled with fresh crisp air.

March 20, 2012

It’s not fun to be in this small cage. Trust me, you don’t want to stay in there for long, not even for a minute especially under the sun. Imagine people put the sun bear in this cage for years. What do you think the cage will do to the sun bear?

March 20, 2012

Today is the last day for the traveler volunteers. It’s time to say goodbye again after nine days working together. Adieu!— with Rebecca Price, Daniel Majilir, Wendy Phillips and Cliph Harman.

March 20, 2012

I finally got the shot of the sun bear’s tongue. Sun bears have very a long tongue which allows them to get their food in deep holes. One of the bears called Bermuda in the new bear house always gets its porridge in a ball. And there is… a hole on the ball from where Bermuda sticks its tongue in and gets the porridge out with its tongue. It’s always fun to see him eating his porridge with his front feet holding the ball and his long tongue getting the porridge out from the ball. Well done Bermuda!

By Hiu Yeat Har

March 9, 2012

Estee and I have gone through our third day of volunteering work. We were much more efficient than the previous day after knowing the routine work. Finally, we have time to take a closer look at the sun bears observing them just few feet aw…ay from us. We notice that the bears have powerful claws. Besides using them to climb up and down, the bears also use them to grip on a targeted object. Once an object is locked, it can never get away from the bear claws. We also learn how strong their arms are. Humans can never have the strength equivalent to a sun bear. When walking on the floor or soil, they only depend on its bear pads which are hairless. Sun bears are also ‘powerful coconut breakers’. All these bear facts fascinate us, and we would like to learn more about them whenever we can in the days to come.

March 12

Having breakfast at the Sepilok Cafeteria with other volunteers and Wai Pak (one of the full-time staff at BSBCC). The second guy on the right of the picture is Rushan is leaving today, so we are having a farewell meal with him. He is from KL and will be heading to Minessota for his master degree in September. We are all glad to know him coz he is extremely friendly, helpful and funny. We will miss him.

March 14

Yesterday, Tao and I took a day off to visit Labuk Bay. It’s about 28km away from Sepilok where we work. We took a taxi (cost us RM 100) and reached there to catch the 9:30am feeding time. The wetland area is in the oil palm estate itself. Compared with Klias Wetland in KK, I had a closer encounter with the proboscis monkeys, Oriental Pied Hornbills and Silver leaf monkeys. To tell the truth, I appreciate wildlife more than any stage in my life now. They are simply beautiful and their existence adds more colors to our world, and I think we should try all we can to make sure their survival is not threatened. Our existence lies in their hands and not vice versa.

March 14

The bears had corns today. When an ear of corn was thrown on the top of the cage, it didn’t get through the holes. But it didn’t upset the bears at all. They climbed up the cage and used their claws to pull the corn through the holes easi.ly. Then they used their claws again to grip on the fresh corn tightly and shear the husks with their teeth. Most ate it on the floor but one enjoyed its delicious snack in its own basket. A few lay on the floor and used their forearms’ claws to hold the corn while munching it with their teeth. It’s fun to see how bears shear a fresh ear of corn. I found that the more time I spend with the bears, the more I feel they are human like. I somehow feel sad to see them living in captivity and not able to enjoy a care free life like us. And so I ask myself what rights do we have to take their habitat and life away?

March 15

Wong took us to attend a talk given by Dr. Pilai Pooswad from Thailand on Tuesday night. Dr. Pilai is an internationally recognized hornbill expert and she is also the only hornbill conservationist in South East Asia. She builds, modifies and repairs hornbill nesting areas for the hornbills to breed, converts the hornbill poachers to hornbill research assistants and collects years of data to find out if her effort has increased the population of hornbills in the designated areas. After listening to her talk, I wonder how can we not admire a woman and her team who devote their lifetime to create a community-based conservation? How can we not support their work and thier passion trying to maintain the balance of our ecocystem so that we can have a better place to live in?

  March 16

The new bear house has many ‘secret’ doors. If I’m not mistaken, each cage has 5 doors. There is one door leading to the forest enclosure, the other two are for the bears to go in and out from cage to cage if both are open, the bigger door is for the convenience of the staff either to clean the cage or for other ‘human’ purposes. There is only one door which I am not sure what it is used for and haven’t had the chance to find out yet. It is placed within the bigger door itself. In fact, there is also another opening which is more like a ‘window’ where we slide the food tray in and out during meal time. In my view, all these doors allow the bears to have more space to move around and also ensure the safety of the staff whose bear friends may get rough sometimes. Spending an average about six hours each day in this new bear house is like spending my time at my own house taking care of all the family members and handling all the house chores. It’s my second home now. Its sight, its smell and its sounds evoke every sense of my mind and I know deep down my tears will give away the day when I leave the place and the bears behind.

 March 16

The project manager of BSBCC Ng Wai Pak gave two talks about providing enrichment for sun bears and orang utans. Volunteers from both Orang Utans Rehabilitation Center and BSBCC attended the talks just the past Thursday and Friday afternoo…n. I have never heard of enrichment activities for animals before this. I have never learned in my text books about the importance of providing either artificial or natural environment or programs that can help to create mental stimulation and encourage natural behaviors for the animals in captivity. To be frank, I have never been raised to understand animals need a good quality of life as we do. I have never been taught the physical and the psychological well-being of the animals should be our concern. In fact, the ignorance about all living things on the earth has inflicted many pains, fears and deaths to the animals. And therefore, it’s time to change. It’s time to give ourselves a chance to know ‘who’ they are and what they need.

Repost from http://www.hamiltonadvertiser.co.uk/news/local-news/hamilton-news/2012/01/12/hamilton-vet-workers-to-raise-money-for-orphaned-orangutans-and-sun-bears-51525-30101704/

Hamilton vet workers to raise money for orphaned orangutans and sun bears

Jan 12 2012 by Gary Fanning, Hamilton Advertiser

A HAMILTON vet and a colleague are set to get on their bikes to coin it in for orphaned orangutans and sun bears.

Mum-of-three Julie Innes and veterinary nurse Joanna Boyle will cycle 56 miles from Edinburgh to Glasgow in orangutan and bear costumes to raise much-needed cash on Sunday, February 5.

The charity cycle is to raise money for Sepilok Rehabilitation centre in Malaysia, home to orphaned orangutans and sun bears.

Both women work at Julie Innes vets in Hamilton’s Cadzow Street and are taking up the challenge despite both not having previously ridden a bike since their teenage years.

Joanna (23) spent eight weeks working in Sepilok where the centre strives to protect the remaining wild populations of orangutans and sun bears through conservation and education.

The centre also rehabilitates the animals to that they can go back into the wild.

Julie is originally from Hamilton and opened her veterinary surgery in the town last May.

The 39-year-old has two daughters, Evie and Lily, pupils at St Mary’s Primary School in Hamilton and son Tom who is at nursery.

Joanna, of Muirend, Glasgow, said: “Hopefully through our challenge we will help a little with both funds for medical supplies and food and also raise awareness of these amazing creatures.”

When Joanna returned home, she felt compelled to help these animals and came up with the fun charity cycle idea to raise money for the centre.

Joanna added: “We are very grateful for the excellent response we have received from friends and clients at the surgery.”

Donations can be made through www.justgiving.com/joanna-julie or by popping into the surgery in Cadzow Street.