One Month Was Never Going to Be Enough

Text by Logananthini A/P Solayappan

Photos by ​Logananthini A/P Solayappan & Seng Yen Wah

Hi there, I’m Loga. I came to the BSBCC to volunteer because, while I was looking for job opportunities, I thought I needed to at least pick up some skills and experiences. Although choosing the BSBCC wasn’t on my mind as a first choice, but as my friend’s suggestion, I knew the environment was going to be good for learning new knowledge in the environmental field, specifically animal husbandry, and growing as a person overall.

I come from the State of Melaka and I had never seen an actual sun bear up close in my life until now. This one month of volunteering at the BSBCC has been eye-opening and has brought me much joy as well as sorrow; the joy that I can be a part of such a project to try to rehabilitate these cute animals and the sorrow is where I learn that through my volunteering, what these animals and other similar species go through because of human actions. 

This one month was full of excitement as it was a change of pace from my recent internship in another place. Every little thing that the bears do pique my interest and tickle me in my heart every time I see them. As I cleaned their cages, I felt that I was helping to make the bears more comfortable in their captive environment. As I prepared their food and fed them every day, I felt satisfied as they enjoyed their meals.  The enrichments that I helped to prepare for them kept them occupied so that they wouldn’t resort to any abnormal behaviour resulting from other outside factors.
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The staff were very welcoming and had the patience to teach me the daily routines although it was my first time in this kind of environment, doing animal husbandry. It gave me an idea to strive to improve myself so that I could one day be in a similar situation where I can play a hand in animal conservation so that our future generations can live to see these majestic animals in action. Thanks to my buddy, Pradeep who had the patience to answer my questions. He really gave us the knowledge about sun bears and other general knowledge, which can be applied to conservation projects. For me he is ten in one. Thanks also to Adneen, Mizuno, David, Jude, Oliver, Wawa, and Ivan. Thanks to Dr Boon for allowing us to join the medical check-up and the happiness when I get the chance to help the bears and grateful as I was the part of the medical check-up. Not to forget the Papa Bear, thanks Dr Wong for spending some hours with us to share your knowledge and thoughts.

Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD) Visit to BSBCC

We were honored to receive a visit from the CEO of Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD) or Sime Darby Foundation, Dr. Hjh. Yatela Zainal Abidin, and a few of YSD Officers as a part of YSD’s visits to projects supported and funded by Yayasan Sime Darby in Sabah. YSD has been becoming the backbone of BSBCC since the early days of BSBCC and has supported BSBCC numerous times for the past few years.

The group's arrival at the Centre was warmly greeted by the Founder and CEO of BSBCC, Dr. Wong Siew Te, and the team. They were personally guided by Dr. Wong to watch the sun bears residing in BSBCC forest enclosures, filled with information sharing among the two sides. The YSD’s group was also brought to take a closer look and witness the daily routines in the bear houses and were guided to the new shop building afterward. The visit was finished by 5 pm.

The Movement Control Order (MCO) due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak which started in March 2020 hindered the entries of foreign visitors, bringing the tourism industry to a stop, thus affecting the Centre’s main revenue. Yayasan Sime Darby has spent a big amount of budget to fund the Centre’s operation and support it to go through a hard time. No words can describe how we are deeply grateful for the support given during the time. Thanks for everything Yayasan Sime Darby!

Kukuton Comes To BSBCC

Text by Seng Yen Wah

Today is the first week of 2022 and we received a seven-year-old adult male sun bear named Kukuton from Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. His arrival to BSBCC marks our 66th rescue bear since we started back in 2008.

Kukuton was illegally kept in Kampung Taginambur, Jalan Kota Belud - Ranau in Kota Belud, Sabah. The owner claimed that she was trying to protect him as his previous owner had the intention to sell him off to others but she was too busy managing her family which led to the delay of handing Kukuton over to the authorities. The decision to not immediately inform and hand him over to the authorities after keeping him illegally in a cage for four years; from 2015 to 2019 was against the law and the owner was brought to court. On 19 July 2021, she was found guilty for keeping a Bornean sun bear illegally and the court sentenced her with a fine of RM15,000 or four months in jail which was then settled with the owner paying the fine.

Today, Kukuton is in safe hands at the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. He will undergo a one-month quarantine and receive comprehensive care under the Bear Care team. We will do our best and hope that he can leave his past behind, learn the skills of being a wild sun bear and prepare for the day for his return to the forest again.

Just bear in mind that it is illegal to keep a sun bear in captivity in Sabah. According to the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997, the sun bear is a ‘Totally Protected’ species. Violation of the law will be punished with a fine of not less than RM50,000 and up to RM250,000 and a maximum of five years’ imprisonment.

Buying wild animals is creating an incentive to capture animals for profit. This usually leads to the killing of the mothers so that the young animals can be captured. When the buying demand stops, the killing will stop too. So, please avoid buying wildlife or any products that derives from wildlife. And if you see any illegal wildlife trade, please report the matter to the authorities immediately for action:

# Jabatan PERHILITAN Semenanjung Malaysia: 1-800-88-5151

# MYCAT Wildlife Crime Hotline: +6019 3564194

# Sarawak Forestry Corporation: +6019 8859996 & +6016 8565564

# Sabah Wildlife Department: 088-254767

For more updates on Kukuton, please continue to follow BSBCC on our social media platforms!

Crystal's Volunteer Story

Text by Ng Wei Ling

Photos by Ng Wei Ling, ​Mohd Salffazryean Suban Abdullah & Seng Yen Wah

Hello, I have always wanted to have a volunteer experience since I was little but never got the chance. Coming to BSBCC is my first volunteer experience and it turns out to be really great! When I first arrived at Björn Hala, it looks scary for me because I arrived at night and Björn Hala looks like a haunted wooden house without any lights. In fact, it held the warmest memories during my time there and the dogs there are such a good companion especially at night for a toilet trip.

For a city girl like me, it was really difficult to work in the forest with all the small animals like leaches, spiders and centipede and also a lot of insects like cockroaches, mosquitoes, ants and many more weird looking insects which I do not know the name. I almost gave up after volunteering for a week but I am grateful that I did not. As I progressed through, I have gain knowledge and understanding towards wild life conservation and its challenges. The sad truth is that poaching is still happening not just in Malaysia but all around the world and there is no telling how long those rehabilitated bears could survive in the wild despite being trained and evaluated fit for the wild. On the other hand, human development (industrial and residential development) is not going to stop and there are not enough forest reserves left to release the bears. I can only hope that one day human and wildlife can co-exist.

So, before that, we do what we can to conserve. In the bear house, we prioritize the welfare of the bears. The routine work at the bear house in the morning is cleaning bear cages while after lunch we will make enrichment for the bears. I have learned to make some small enrichment but I prefer to build structure enrichment because small enrichment will have to deal with a lot of ants.

Whilst, structure enrichment is more exciting as it involved cutting, sawing, and drilling. Considering it as a life skill?

So, when I was asked to make an enrichment, I came up with an idea of building structure enrichment. I was not sure if the bears will like it but I got a lot of guidance from my buddy, David, and he also suggested to give it to Chin the bear. I was so glad that Chin like it and actually play with it.

Finally, I really appreciate and am thankful for the time that I have spent here working with bears and also all the bear house staffs who made my first volunteering experience amazing! At the end of my volunteering time, all the struggles was nothing when compared to the positive values and experiences that I have gained.