2/11/25

Itam the Sun Bear with her GPS collar

The time has come to fit Itam with her GPS collar!🐻✨

Itam is our potential release candidate and plans are in place for her release in March 2025. Ever since Itam was released into the forest enclosure in 2022, she started exhibiting strong forest survival skills. Itam is elusive, cautious and has no interest in being friendly with humans. She will usually keep her distance when she hears her keepers coming and will spy from behind the bushes to see who it is before barking at them and running away. She enjoys spending most of her time on her own, or high up in the thick forest canopy where it is very hard to spot her.

Over the past year, her management has been modified to suit a potential release candidate whereby her diet was changed to randomised amounts, variety and timing. Her exposure to humans has also been significantly decreased as only 3 keepers have been appointed to deal with her management and precaution (noise level and human activity) is taken when she is out in her enclosure. Behaviour observation data collection has also been ongoing to further analyse her suitability to be a hard release candidate.

Fitting her with this GPS collar a month before her release will give her time to get comfortable with the collar and also give us confirmation that the collar is functioning well. When Itam is released, the collar will send us GPS points of her location, allowing us to track her movement patterns and notify us if the collar has stopped moving (finger crossed this doesn’t happen! 🤞☺️)

As the time for her release comes closer, the team is working hard preparing and ensuring Itam is fit for her day of freedom. Thank you to everyone who have continuously been supporting Itam’s journey!🐻🤍



Farewell to our first volunteers of 2025 (APE Malaysia Volunteers)

Big thank you and farewell to our first volunteers of 2025 and welcome to our next batch of APE Malaysia volunteers!

Thank you guys for all your help this past month, ensuring the bears are getting the best life they deserve. Big bear hugs to Sara, Vincent, Evelin and Sebastian from Spånga Gymnasium for volunteering your sweat and hard work here at BSBCC. We truly appreciate all your help.

Welcome to Georgina and Cecilia from Mexico, who will be volunteering with us for 2 weeks. We hope you guys enjoy your time here and learn as much as possible about our smallest bear species - the sun bears! 🐻

What a great start to 2025!💛


US Ambassador to Malaysia, The Honorable Edgard D. Kagan visit (24 Jan 2025)

We are honored to have the US Ambassador to Malaysia, The Honorable Edgard D. Kagan and his friends visit our Centre today.

Dr. Wong, CEO and Founder of BSBCC showed them around for a tour around the Centre, highlighting environmental challenges, issues faced by sun bears in the wild and the importance of the set up of BSBCC.

We hope everyone had a wonderful time at the Centre, although it rained heavily for a while. We hope to see you again next time!













1/22/25

Sabah Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Environment (KEPKAS) visit

We received a visit today (21st January 2025) from a delegate from the Sabah Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Environment (KEPKAS) represented and headed by YBhg. Datuk Josie Lai and accompanied by several other officials: Dr. Maklarin Lakim (Director of Sabah Parks), Mr. Mohd Sofian Abu Bakar (Director of Sabah Wildlife Department), Mdm. Mary Malangking (Deputy Permanent Secretary of KEPKAS), Dr. Nabilah Sarkawi and Mr. Sailun Aris. The Founder and CEO of BSBCC, Dr. (Hons) Wong Siew Te personally guided the delegates around showing them some of features and facilities in our Centre. They also seized the opportunity to have a look on our healthy and well taken cared sun bears in our Centre, showing the dedication put by our Bear Care Unit on the sun bears welfare and health. Thank you KEPKAS and SWD for the continuous support to BSBCC's cause.



















1/20/25

BSBCC Annual Dinner 2025

On 19 January 2025, BSBCC hosted their annual dinner with a Black and Gold theme. We were honored to have Datuk Frederick Kugan, Chief Conservator of Forests of Sabah Forestry Department & BSBCC Board of Director, along with his wife Datin Rosita Patrick Limy, and Dr Nabila Sarkawi, Veterinary of Sabah Wildlife Department joined the dinner.

This event was held to celebrate success and show appreciation for all the staff's hard work and effort throughout the year. Besides the good food, all the staff were also excited for the lucky draw session. Senior staff member received a 10-year service award from BSBCC in recognition of their 10 years of dedicated service. Great performances (singing, dancing, and catwalk, best dress) were performed by the staff and volunteers, making the night even more fun and exciting!

Thank you to all the BSBCC team members for their dedication to saving the Sun Bears! Together, we can tackle any challenge that comes our way. Let's do this!