Text & photo by Gloria Ganang
It was such a precious and meaningful weekend for two of the BSBCC team members, Wai Pak and myself where we traveled to different towns of Sabah to be part of two outstanding events, the Animal Welfare Awareness Concert and the Borneo Bird Festival 2012.
The Animal Welfare Awareness Concert was held on the 5th October 2012 at the KDCA Hall, Penampang, Kota Kinabalu. The concert started at 7.30pm. However there was an exhibition session earlier that day which started at 2.30 pm. The exhibition was attended by groups of students from the local schools and of course animal lovers from across the state. This was a great opportunity to encourage the public to love the sun bears as well!
Setting up our booth
Wai Pak explaining the works of BSBCC to the VIP visitors
Local school students so much interested to know about the sun bears
Introducing the sun bears to the public
The cuteness of a sun bear cub always getting the public’s attention
The Borneo Bird Festival was held on the 5th – 7th October 2012 at the world famous Kinabalu Park. Apart from the spectacular scenery, the different birds occurring at the high elevation makes it a perfect spot for bird watching competitions. How did it go for the BSBCC booth? I could say we had a big hit!
Promoting sun bears to the important target group
More and more visitors
Yes, the kids need to learn about sun bears as well
Appreciation from the organizer
It was an overwhelming experience to see a lot of our local people have not yet heard or knew of the sun bears and that these bears exist in our forest! We made the visitors guess the name of the animals in the pictures showing a sun bear cub. The answers varied. “Panda!”, “Beruang kucing (meaning Cat Bear in Malay)!”,”Puppy”, or simply “a bear?”. “Panda” was the most common answer and people RARELY answered the sun bear! People who knew about the sun bears mostly are those who’ve heard of the worthiness of its bile or paws when sold or traded. Perhaps not many knew of their shrinking habitat, their reducing numbers or the penalties of keeping them as pets. Therefore, the BSBCC is glad that we are at both events to promote the word of this “forgotten” species. Special thanks to Valiant Events & Entertainment and the Borneo Bird Festival 2012 organizing committees for working so hard and made these awesome events successful. You guys rock!
Wai Pak and Rasmir Rashid, organizer of the World Animal
Welfare Awareness Concert
Welfare Awareness Concert
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