Rare bear spotted in Bintulu

The Star Online > Nation Friday April 25, 2008
By JACK WONG

KUCHING: Two brown Malayan sun bears caught on a remote camera in a planted forest zone in Bintulu Division are believed to be the first such discovery in Malaysia and Borneo.
Sun bears found in Malaysia and Borneo were black in colour, said Grand Perfect Sdn Bhd conservation department’s project officer Belden Giman.
“This first recording of brown sun bears in Malaysia and Borneo is very interesting. The two sun bears are not yet adults,” he told The Star yesterday.
Grand Perfect is the contractor for Sarawak Planted Forest Sdn Bhd, which is in charge of the 500,000ha Bintulu planted forest Zone project.

Rare bear: One of two brown Malayan sun bears caught on film as the rare creature trips a remotely operated camera in a planted forest in Bintulu. — Picture courtesy of Grand Perfect

Beldem and colleagues, Tony Chaong and Nyegang Megom, gave a joint presentation on “Remote camera survey: An essential tool for wildlife monitoring in the planted forest zone” at an international conference in Kuching Hilton that began on Wednesday.
Some 200 participants are attending the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation Asia-Pacific chapter’s three-day conference on the theme “Towards sustainable land use in Tropical Asia.”
Belden said the dramatic photos of the brown sun bears were caught on the remote camera in the plantation area last July. The protected sun bears are the smallest in the bear family.
The remote camera survey (2005 – 2007) also revealed 25 other species of large and medium-sized mammals.
He said since early 2005, a series of camera-trapping inventories had been done in and around the acacia mangium plantation to document the diversity, occurrence and richness of terrestrial fauna.
“Some 20 study areas, including two main conservation areas and the wildlife corridor, were selected.
“Each block (1km sq) will be sampled, at least with two cameras for 30 days in about three years,” he added.
Belden said a five-year sampling period until Aug 2012 was now underway.
The long-term monitoring model was adopted in collaboration with US-based Smithsonian Institution – Conservation Centre.
He said the data and subsequent information from the study would contribute to the understanding of the dynamic population of mammals in the planted forest zone and in Sarawak and Borneo.
Belden said the project also involved the local community in its training and awareness programmes.

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The following is my comment on this “rare brown sun bear”:

I do not think this is a rare “brown” sun bear. In stead, it is a “normal” black sun bear that we are familiar with. The “brown” color of the pelage may resulted either from:
1) The bear was rolling on red soil prior to the photo was taken. Sun bear sometime rolls on the ground to have a “dirt bath”. When the weather and ground is dry, this red dirt tends to adhere to the pelage for some time. These are a series of photos of Bear 102 or "Infapro" doing his "dirt bath" rollong on the ground. (Photo: Siew Te Wong)

Sun bear often dig to find underground termite and stingless bee nests. When they dig, they also tend to make a mess out of themselves. This is Bear 112 or Lai Xiung. (Photo: Siew Te Wong)

2) Reflection from the flesh that distorted the original color of the pelage. This happen quite commonly for camera trapping, when the flesh of the camera is too strong or too weak, especially when using the filmed cameras.

However, there are “brown” or yellow color sun bears. Here are some examples:

1) Like human, sun bear grow white, pale, or most of the tine yellow hairs when they get old. This is “Garang”- the sun bear in Singapore Zoo. She is 31 year old this year, probably the oldest sun bear ever recorded in captivity. (Photo: Siew Te Wong)
This very rare looking yellow faced sun bear is from Kun Ming Zoo, China. (Photo: Siew Te Wong)

2) Yellow or light pelage sun bear cub resulted from malnutrition and imbalance diet.

Forestry Dept refutes claims

Thursday April 24, 2008
The Star

PETALING JAYA: The Sarawak Forestry Department has refuted accusations that weak enforcement allowed wild animals to be captured and caged for display.
“The department has always placed high emphasis on its credibility,” said department director Datuk Len Talif Salleh in a press statement.
“We would like to reiterate that the department does not practise favouritism or double standards in executing our enforcement activities,” he said in the statement issued through the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry
He was responding to recent reports in The Star about unattended complaints over a sun bear that died after it was kept in a tiny cage for six months for display to tourists at a private farm along the Miri-Bintulu Second Coastal Highway in Sarawak.
The report said that the department failed to attend to a public complaint by a foreigner last year about the matter months before the sun bear died.
Len Talif stressed that enforcement officers were well trained to handle matters in all circumstances but assured the public that the allegation was being investigated.
If disciplinary rules were breached, stern action would be taken against any officer for a lackadaisical attitude in executing enforcement duties, he said.
He also pointed out that Traffic, an international wildlife trade monitoring network, had commended Sarawak's effective curbing of the wildlife trade in its 2007 report.
Referring to the sun bear incident, Len Talif said Sarawak Forestry Corporation enforcement officials were sent to the location to investigate on April 14.
He said the owner of the farm did not appear until late afternoon after attempts to contact him were made and that the team confiscated the wildlife without the presence of the owner according to section 49 of the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998.
“The police report was made at Miri Central police station in the late afternoon and further investigation continued the following day.”
Len Talif said the department had introuced a 24-hour hotline – 019-8897222 or 082-302606 – for quick complaints.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/4/24/nation/21033889&sec=nation

HOPE AT LAST FOR SABAH’S SUN BEARS...

Time is running out for the world’s smallest bear, the little known Malayan Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus). Originally widespread through southeast Asia, Borneo is now one of the few remaining strongholds of this charismatic jungle-dependent mammal.

But its home is fast diminishing; habitat loss and degradation is pushing this bear to the brink, with only about 10,000 animals remaining. Sun Bears are also illegally hunted for food and medicines, shot to prevent damage to crops and villages and poached to capture small cubs for the pet trade.
If these trends continue, Sun Bears just won’t make it!

Rehabilitation in action
However, in Sabah, an East Malaysian state on the island of Borneo, an innovative project is taking shape which aims to provide a holistic approach to Sun Bear conservation, combining improved facilities for captive bears with increased public awareness both locally and internationally and, perhaps most importantly, release back into the forest of individuals which can be rehabilitated or are still ‘wild’.

Under the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Program, developed jointly with Sabah Wildlife Department and Sabah Forestry Department, a Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) will be established at Sepilok, home of the world famous Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, near Sandakan. Here, Sun Bears which have been rescued from captivity (usually expets, orphans or victims of human-bear conflicts) will be housed and cared for in natural enclosures before being released, where ever possible, back into the wild.
No such facility currently exists and with increasing numbers of Sun Bears being confiscated or held in captivity it is imperative to provide better welfare, greater awareness of this flagship species and, ultimately, a chance for a life back in the forest.

How you can help
The BSBCC is seeking funding of US$669,256 (RM2,108,153) for construction costs and Years One and Two of operations. This will encompass the building of a specially designed bear house with a capacity of 36 bears and the fencing of eight spacious natural forest enclosures, an office cum visitor centre and quarantine area and construction of a boardwalk and observation
platform, plus staffing, bear food and veterinary costs.

Sun Bears need all the help they can get . Your support in funding the establishment and operations of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre will go a long way to ensuring a more humane, secure and longterm future for this precious animal.
For a copy of a full proposal, please contact cynthia@leapspiral.org or wongsiew@hotmail.com

'Ban people from keeping wildlife as pets'

The Star
April 20, 2008

MIRI: The Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) division in Penang has called for a blanket ban on the keeping of wildlife as pets and wants the Government to make sure that no permit would be issued to anybody to keep such animals.
SAM president S.M. Mohd Idris said the recent death of a sun bear at a private farm in Miri after prolonged abused, was a classic example of the horrible and long-lasting sufferings these animals may have to endure.
Not only is keeping these wild animals in confinement cruel, the practice is also resulting in an irreversible decline in their populations, he said.
"SAM feels very troubled with how easily wild and endangered animals are being captured and used as showpiece in the homes of certain people.
"This is a growing problem. SAM is totally opposed to keeping these wild animals as pets. No permit must be issued at all to anybody to keep these animals in their homes.
"The Wildlife Protection Rules 1998 provides no protection at all for wild animals that are captured from the wild and kept as pets.
"This law does not regulate the ownership of these animals and does not provide any safeguard for their welfare once they are placed under captivity. That is why these animals must not be allowed to be captured (and taken) from the wild," he said.
Last Thursday, the Sarawak Forestry raided a private farm and rescued a variety of monkeys following the recent death of at least one sun bear there.
The cruelty at the farm was exposed by South African expatriate Tweet Gainsborough last August, but for six months, no effort was taken by any enforcement authority to rescue it.

http://thestar. com.my/news/ story.asp? file=/2008/ 4/20/nation/ 20080420115302&sec=nation

Tycoons buying endangered animals as 'status symbols'

Sunday April 13, 2008
By STEPHEN THEN
stephenthen@thestar.com.my

MIRI: Powerful towkays in Sarawak cities are paying good money to native trappers to capture endangered animals to put on display in their homes as “status symbols.”
Their demand has resulted in an increasingly active black market in exotic wildlife in certain parts of Sarawak, according to information received by environmental-conservation and native rights group Borneo Resources Institute.

Rare animals like the sun bear (above), certain species of monkeys (below, right), rare birds and rare reptiles are being hunted to be sold to towkays who keep them in cages and show them off as ‘status symbols’, say environment groups in Sarawak.

Its Sarawak coordinator Raymond Abin told The Star that middlemen pay trappers well to hunt and capture the wild endangered animals alive and unhurt to be sold at high prices to rich men in towns who wish to display the animals in cages and chains.
This new trend only worsens the plight of wild animals already on the protected and endangered list after being hunted for their meat, especially those believed to have medicinal properties, he said.
Among the most sought after exotic animals for display are endangered mammals such as bears, rare monkeys, rare birds and even rare reptiles.
Abin was commenting on The Star’s reports about a sun bear that died after it was kept in a tiny cage for more than six months for display to tourists at a private farm along the Miri-Bintulu Second Coastal Highway recently.
A private farm was said to have a variety of animals including sun bears, macaques and gibbons.

He said the Sarawak Wildlife Department and Sarawak Forestry must find out how the farm owner got the sun bear.
“Unless the link is uncovered and severed by the authorities, this wildlife trade will not stop.
Miri Wildlife Department enforcement chief Abang Arabi Abang Imran said investigations failed to uncover the sun bear’s remains as farm workers refused to disclose what happened.
Sources said yesterday the farm belonged to an influential property developer and the wildlife department officers were afraid to interrogate him.

Proof missing at Miri farm

The Star
April 12, 2008
Proof missing at Miri farm
By STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: The private farm in Miri, where a sun bear died after prolonged incarceration in a small cage, appears to have destroyed all evidence that it had illegally kept endangered animals.
It is also learnt that the huge farm at Jalan Bakam along the Miri-Bintulu Second Coastal Highway had more than one sun bear, and many monkeys, gibbons and wild goats.
But when enforcement officers from the Sarawak Asset Protection Unit (Sapu) went to the farm yesterday, they found they were six months too late in acting on the many complaints filed by expatriates against cruelty to the sun bear.
These complaints, filed since August, had been forwarded in oral and written form to the Miri Wildlife Department, Sarawak Forestry and the Miri City Council.
The officers saw some torn-down shacks that could have housed some of these animals but no trace of the bears were found in the 162ha farm that encompassed forests and a hill.
Sapu enforcement chief for Miri Division, Rudolf Gerang, admitted that yesterday’s operation drew a complete blank.
“The place is huge. We had a look around but cannot find any animal. The workers said they do not know anything. We are now trying to find out who is directly in charge of this place,” he said.
Sapu is a unit under the direct supervision of Sarawak Forestry. So is the Wildlife Department.
He had no satisfactory answer as to why the sun bear had not been rescued, except to say that investigations have been re-opened.
While these enforcement officers scratch their heads, The Star received new e-mails yesterday from visitors to the farm who said they saw at least two caged sun bears and that both were now gone.
Another visitor said he was disturbed to find endangered creatures kept in tiny cages in a farm with so much forest and land.
“It was sheer cruelty,” he said.
Readers have also expressed disgust and vowed to never visit the farm again.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/4/12/nation/20930404&sec=nation

Officers raid sunbear farm, come up empty

The Star
Friday April 11, 2008
Officers raid sunbear farm, come up empty
By STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: Enforcement officers from the Sarawak Asset Protection Unit (SAPU) on Friday raided the private farm here where a sunbear had died after prolonged abuse inside a small iron-cage.
It is also learnt that this farm had more than one sunbear, and it also had many monkeys, gibbons and wild goats.
A team of SAPU enforcement staffs on Friday morning entered the farm, located at Jalan Bakam along the Miri-Bintulu Second Coastal Highway next to the National Service Training Camp, and ended up red-faced.
They tried to enter the farm at about 10am and found the workers there giving them the run-around.
"Tidak tahu. Tak ada bear lagi (Don't know. No more bears)," were the answers these enforcement staffs obtained from workers at the farm.
The officers found some torn-down shacks believed to have been used to house some of these animals.
They could find no trace of the bears. The entire farm measures a huge 400 acres in size from one end to the other, encompassing forests and a hill.
SAPU enforcement chief for Miri Division, Rudolf Gerang, on Friday admitted that the operation drew a complete blank.
"The place is huge. We had a look around but we could not find any animals. The workers said they do not know anything. We are now trying to find out who is directly in charge of this place," he said.
SAPU and the Wildlife Department are units under the direct supervision of the Sarawak Forestry.
Asked why SAPU and the Wildlife Department did not act on the complaints lodged last August by South African expatriate Tweet Gainsborough, Gerang could not give any satisfactory explanation.
"I have checked the files and it is confirmed that the South African had furnished us her complaints plus photos of the sunbear being confined in the small cage since last year.
"I checked with the Wildlife Department and they confirmed that the sunbear was still alive inside the cage last year after the complaints were received.
"We (SAPU) have reopened this file for further investigation," he stressed.

Outrage over dead bear

The Star
Thursday April 10, 2008

MIRI: Animal lovers have criticised the State Wildlife Department and local authorities for failing to rescue an abused sun bear which died at a private farm here.
The Star was besieged with calls and e-mail from concerned residents, angered by the death of the endangered mammal at the farm located along the Miri-Bintulu second coastal highway.
The sun bear died after being held in a small cage for more than six months.
A reader, Fiona Suleiman, expressed sadness that such cruelty continued to exist despite calls for tougher laws to deter animal abuse.
An expatriate warned that such abuse would lead to negative consequences for the tourism industry.

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Caged sunbear dies

The Star
Tuesday April 8, 2008
Caged sunbear dies
By STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: An endangered sunbear locked up for months inside a small iron cage, and used as a showpiece to attract visitors at a private farm along the Miri-Bintulu Second Coastal Highway, has died from neglect.
The sunbear, a protected species, died after its owner had hidden it inside an isolated forest away from public view following complaints from a group of expatriates who were disgusted with the manner the creature was treated.
A worker of the farm, located at Jalan Bakam, next to the National Service Training Camp, confirmed Tuesday that the sunbear recently died.
"The sunbear was taken to an isolated area and was continuously kept inside the cage. It was placed near a forested section of the farm. It died recently inside the cage," said a worker who spoke on condition that his identity was not disclosed.
Miri Wildlife Department enforcement chief Abang Arabi Abang Imran, when asked to comment Tuesday, also confirmed that he had sent his enforcement officers to the site and found that the sunbear was missing and that the owners could not give any satisfactory explanation on what had happened to the animal.
"We will find out what happened to the sunbear. We have been investigating this case for a long time following complaints lodged by foreigners who had visited the farm," he said.
The Star on August 11 last year, highlighted this case after being approached by South African expatriate Tweet Gainsborough whose husband was working for an oil and gas giant here in Miri.
Arabi, when asked Tuesday why it took six months for his department to investigate this case, said, "I had instructed my enforcement people to handle the case immediately after I received the complaints. I must open the case file and find out what had transpired and why the bear was not rescued," he said.
Arabi confirmed that the sunbear is a protected species, and that the private farm did not have any permit to keep the animal.

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http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/8/11/nation/18565167&sec=nation
Saturday August 11, 2007

Unbearable sight to behold
By STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: The sight of a sun bear desperately biting on the iron bars of a very small cage at a private farm here has enraged animal lovers, expatriates and foreign tourists.
The sun bear, an endangered and protected species, is being kept in deplorable conditions at the farm.
The animal is kept in a cage measuring only about 1.5m square. The holes of the cage are just big enough for the bear to put its mouth through.
However, the holes keep trapping the bear’s feet whenever it tries to move about. The cage is so small that the bear is only able only walk a few steps before it has to turn.
South African expatriate Tweet Gainsbo-rough, whose husband works in the oil industry here, said she and fellow expatriates were shocked to see the cruelty inflicted on this rare animal during her visit to the place recently.

Seeking freedom: The sun bear biting on the bars of the cage it is being kept in at the farm near Miri.
She wondered how the authorities could allow such a protected animal to be kept in such a miserable condition.
“We visited the farm recently with the hope of enjoying some of the local countryside but, to our horror, we found animals being kept in horrible conditions.
“This sun bear was locked up in such a small enclosure and displayed just outside the canteen for everybody to see.
“There is not enough room for it to even move about in comfort. When we saw the bear, it was desperately trying to get out. It was biting on the iron bars of the cage.
“I took a photo of it as evidence (as shown in picture) and asked the people managing the farm why they kept the bear in such a state. They merely kept silent.
“I asked how long the bear had been kept like that and they also kept quiet.
She has since written appeals to the Wildlife Department, Miri City Council and the farm, appealing to the keepers to be more merciful to the sun bear.
A check by The Star found that the farm had “special permission” from the local authorities here to keep the bear in order to attract visitors.
The owners were not available for comment.
Miri Wildlife enforcement officer Abang Arabi Abang Imran said they had received Gainsborough’s written complaints.

黄修德与马来熊共舞

南洋商报
新视野
2008/01/14报道：佘美翠

深山老林藏着神秘，像海一样深奥，也由于我们知道的太少。

来自槟城大山脚38岁的科学家黄修德，与台湾籍太太和两个女儿分隔两地，他走入葱绿茂盛的林中做研究，实践了他年幼时的愿望。 从小特别钟爱动物的他，上小学之前就跟着爸爸养果子狸和小鸟。中学时期，他自己帮宠物繁殖，爱情鸟、金鱼、狗啊等等，还将产物宝宝卖掉赚些小钱。 “自小学一年级开始，每年填写志愿表格，规定的两个必填选择，我都写下动物专家和兽医。”

研究马来熊，他是从零开始。而在1998至2000年期间，他在沙巴达浓谷森林进行的马来熊的研究工作中，间接认识了胡须猪，也将之纳入其研究版图。 “那时森林里闹饥荒。热带雨林一般上予人很丰蕴的印象，可是婆罗洲森林的实情并非如此。”他说，这两物种生态相似，属于杂食兽，吃很多野果和昆虫。 “马来熊和胡须猪饿肚子的原因之一，是榕树不结果，因为榕果小蜂（Fig Wasp）大量死亡。” 我听他解说，“果树分有花及隐花两种，开花的，雄花产生花粉，借由风吹将花粉散播到雌蕊的柱头上受精，开花结果。”

自然界会互利共生

他续说，同样的，榕果小蜂是花粉传递者之一。隐花果的花托上有小孔，让小蜂钻入授粉。榕果提供小蜂孵育的场所和食物，这是自然界互利共生的现象之一。 1997年至1998年圣婴现象（又称厄尔尼诺现象）来袭，造成整个森林旱热，发生大规模的森林大火，很多榕果小蜂都死亡了。基于许多小蜂死亡，榕果长了果，榕果小蜂却没来授粉，它们就不需要继续成长，因为发展结成果所需要的糖分、碳水矿合物、纤维等，对果树是一种负担，因此，榕果循大自然的奥妙“流产”。 他的研究范围包括两物种的生态环境与习性，吃什么，做什么、活动范围、食物来源、食物量、野果量、昆虫量等. 黄修德同时做比较研究，即择伐活动对两者的影响。他的研究样本林是150平方公里，原始林占40％，60％为伐木森林，两个林种中皆发现马来熊和胡须猪。

动物与森林，是共存还是依赖？

黄修德说，两者都有。 “森林所有的物种（动物、昆虫、植物甚至霉菌）都有它们在整个森林生态中扮演的角色，缺一不可。动植物之间息息相关，树和植物为雨林中的成千上万种生物提供食物和庇护所。植物需靠动物，比如许多果树的结果，是由动物来传播种子。” 研究显示，种子传播离开母树越远，生长几率会越高。若种子落在母树下，便得与母树和其它种子竞争资源，远离母树，就等于远离那些对母树有害的动物或病菌。 这时候动物就是传播者了，果实里甜甜的部分是一种“奖励品”，吸引动物把它吃掉（大自然真奥妙，它还会行贿呢！），吞进肚子，动物之后走动到其他范围，通过粪便把果实种子给排出来，种子落地生根。还有很多植物的种子须经动物肠子的消化，有特别的膜包着，才能发芽。 “比如马来熊，它吃很多野果，活动范围分布也广，可达15平方公里。我的资料显示它们一天可以走5公里路，狼吞虎咽，果子没什么咀嚼就吃下，经过消化排了出来，这是在4至6个小时后，它们可能已走了两公里了。如果嚼烂了就是一种破坏。 “熊是很好的种子播迁者。野生榴种子很大，它能整个吞下，走到很远，种子随大便时排出。大便有丰富养分，对种子的发育有很大的帮助。” 奥妙吧？个中自有安排和演化的过程。

当然，部分动物同时也化身种子掠夺者，像胡须猪，是破坏种子的元凶之一，不过它也有一定的有用生态角色。 “猪大部分是扮演‘生态工程师’，几乎所有野果它都吃，它会找蚯蚓、根茎类，薯类，用硬硬的鼻子拱挖泥土，这翻泥松土的过程，它把肥沃度和氧气都翻转过来。它本身也提供食物来源给生物链中位居更上层的动物，例如大蟒蛇。 “熊也一样。它们吃白蚁和蜂蜜的时候，会把白蚁巢或蜂巢破坏，或弄碎枯木，这些活动都助长整个森林的分解和重建。

从事野外研究多年，有何感想或启示？
从事野外研究多年，可带给黄修德任何的感想或启示吗？

“人类对雨林的知识太少了，热带雨林的功能还有很多是我们未知的。 “整个婆罗洲森林生态是很脆弱的生态系统，因为每一种生物之间的关系非常密切，而当有某一种生物生态被破坏，它不只影响该物种，而会是波纹似的牵连效应。好像榕树，有上百种甚至上千种的生物都依靠它。如果榕树数量少了，这些相关物种生存就受波及。在我们这座演化史上最古老的森林中，物种多，彼此关系密切，我们认为的小破坏，对物种来说却非常严重。” 黄修德说，大部分森林的产果周期是每年一次，在东南亚，就有点不一样。苏门答腊、婆罗洲和马来半岛这三地森林，开花结果的周期不是每年，它是超年的，叫作“supra-annual”，即多过2年，可能是3年、5年甚至10年才开花结果一次，所以难以捉摸。 “这完全跟气候有关，受圣婴现象影响，它每5年至7年来一次，近年更频繁。圣婴现象造成干旱，而植物生长与否与气候有很大关系，并取决于雨量、温度和湿度。” 黄修德说自己深深体会森林富含的奥妙。看那林中的叶尾呈尖状，那是为了让雨水徐缓流下，而不是像瀑布般直接冲洒落地，冲走地表养分。为什么会这样子呢？“森林里的奥妙啊！每一种动植物在它的环境中，都有其生存之道和作用。” 他说，森林好像大海般深不可测，可是它很严重地逐渐消失。除了被改成油棕园，那市场价格奇高的硬木不断应声倒下，还直接压坏其它树木，破坏动物们的食物和栖息地。 “铲泥机开路，把内陆树木带出森林，整个过程要殃及多少无辜？有研究显示，当在一个地方砍伐3%的森林，过程中其周遭的破坏性超过50％。”

科学家的研究报告，有何贡献？

科学家为什么做研究，他们的研究报告可有贡献？以黄修德为例，其研究文献主要提供给政府、政策决策者、自然资源经营者，比如林务局、森林局，伐木经营者等相关资料和数据，并建议如何在采用资源获取利润与维持森林良好生态中，达到双赢的平衡。 他希望研究成果能给相关人士在进行自然资源管理上，特别是对森林的永续使用，提供指标。只有充分了解物种的生态环境与习性与跟栖息环境的关系，才能以最好的方式去经营森林，包括设立条例。

“我的研究是要找出这些动物在择伐林里头，使它们能继续生存的重要因素。比如它们很依靠无花果树，橡子树、栎树的果子，所以在伐木活动中，这些很大的果树不能砍。 “伐木活动一旦存在，无论如何都具有负面影响，问题是怎样把冲击力减至最低，使物种可以继续生存，人类也可善用森林资源。” 他指出，有人在森林里工作，间接地会成为阻遏盗猎的督促者，同时他可利用自己的专业，训练当地居民从事这方面的学习，作类似研究。

黄修德Profile

◆黄修德是美国蒙达那大学森林与保育系院的准博士，主修野生族群生物学；1998年他曾在沙巴州的原始低地雨林保护区达浓谷（Danum Valley）待了两年半，完成其硕士论文：马来熊的生态学研究。2005年他重返旧地，这次是为博士论文，专修马来熊（Sun Bear）和胡须猪（Bearded Pig）的研究和保育；预计明年完成研究方案。

◆1992年自台湾屏东科技大学畜牧兽医系文凭毕业后，黄修德曾当过教授的研究助理，在台湾南部亚热带阔叶林做野外研究工作两年。之后回来大马，参与本地的保育工作。

◆后来他到美国念书，在温带的针叶林住了9年，夏天时候到森林野外工作，由此累积了超过十年的野外研究经验。

◆回忆在美国念大学的第一年，他碰上了现在的指导教授，上了他一堂有关世界熊类保育的状况。黄修德趋前向教授介绍自己来自马来西亚，他提及大马有马来熊，而教授表示正找着人选从事这方的研究。“这下正合我心意，就毛遂自荐，因为我对于大型哺乳动物的研究非常有兴趣。”

◆他本是畜牧兽医系出身，基本上跟研究野生动物无大关联，所以算是转科。