4/20/10

Bornean Sun Bear Conservation

Bornean Sun Bear Conservation

Behind the bear house is the 1 ha forest enclosure in Sepilok Forest Reserve

Behind the bear house is the 1 ha forest enclosure in Sepilok Forest Reserve

Our state of the art new bear house is one thing for sure that make us all very proud at Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. It cost about USD400,000 and took 8 months to build. However, there is another important element at BSBCC that make us even more proud is our 1-hectare forest enclosure that our bears will spend most of their time playing, foraging, climbing, digging, sleeping and resting. This forest enclosure is priceless, there is simply no monetary value on this piece of 1 hectare of primary forest, and it takes millions of years to build.

When I first visited this piece of forest few years ago when searching for an ideal site for BSBCC, I cannot tell the difference between this forest that will be the our forest enclosure for the rescued sun bears and the natural forest that I spent years to study wild sun bears. This is it! This is the best living environment that we can possibly give to our rescued sun bears. Here, the bears can do what they use to do in the forest. It is also going to be here that visitors- ordinary people, not sun bear biologist, can see what I used to see sun bears did in the wild, in their natural habitat, in a primary lowland rainforest of Borneo.

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Big tress and big decayed logs – sun bear: " I am home!"

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Through the chain link fence is another forest enclosure with huge tree

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Huge tree in the forest enclosure and the iron wood fence with hot wires

Huge tree in the forest enclosure and the iron wood fence with hot wires

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On behalf of BSBCC and all the rescued sun bears at BSBCC, I would like to thank Sabah Forestry Department and Sabah Wildlife Department, especially directors Datuk Sam Mannan and Dr. Laurentius Ambu, for their kind support to give us this piece of priceless forest enclosure. Lastly but not lease, thank you all for giving loves, cares, and supports for our works to help this special bear call sun bears.

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"Thank you all!"

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