My Volunteer Experience

Text by Lucie Muddell

Photos by Jacquelyn Jepiuh

I fell in love with the sun bears when I first visited BSBCC in 2019. I’d applied for the volunteer programme during that trip, and within a few weeks had been accepted by Ape Malaysia for the April 2020 project. Unfortunately, Covid got in the way of my plans, and it was only in July 2023, over three years and four rearranged placement dates later, that I could finally get back to Borneo and begin four weeks working with the team at BSBCC.

Volunteering in the Bear House has been so rewarding and it felt like everything I did had a direct impact on both the bears and the staff – from checking the fence and having the privilege to walk through the forest enclosures (which usually meant being covered in mud, climbing fences or avoiding flooded areas – all part of the fun!), to helping with providing daily supplements, the feeding walks in the lush forest, prepping all the many kilograms of food, making enrichments for the bears, cleaning the cages and being around the wonderful keepers who have helped me learn so much about BSBCC and the bears themselves. I’ve even managed to learn all the bears’ names and have improved some (still very basic) Malay! The team have been so welcoming and I will be forever grateful for the time they have spent helping me learn so much.

My enrichment project was made for a bear called Kudat – my buddy David and I collected wood from the forest and made a swing which David very skillfully attached to the roof of Kudat’s den. Kudat was very clever in swiping the food off the swing to get it all at ground level when he first saw it, but a few days later I saw him resting his front paws and head on the swing with his back legs resting on a branch below. We then used the tactic of throwing his enrichment directly above the swing to help him gain confidence using it and he happily climbed up, laid back on the swing with his back paws holding on to the rope, then leisurely took the enrichment through from the roof. It was really lovely to watch him get his confidence and use his intelligence at the same time.

I have so many highlights from my time at BSBCC but one that will definitely stay with me forever is having the privilege to help out at a health check for Dodop. I held her head during intubation (sun bear heads are very heavy!), held her legs and paws whilst blood was taken, took her temperature and listened to her heartbeat, whilst helping the team move her into various positions. It was very special to be so close to her and to be able to touch her soft, wiry fur. Huge thanks to Dr Boon and Jude for explaining everything that they were doing during her health check.

I would thoroughly recommend coming to volunteer with the sun bears at BSBCC – the past four weeks have flown by so quickly and I’ve loved every second especially getting to know the bears’ distinct personalities, each of which are as unique as their chest marks.

The bears, the staff, my fellow volunteers and the beautiful rainforest have made this the most fulfilling adventure and I’m hopeful that I can come back one day to volunteer again. I think I’ll be experiencing Severe Sun Bear Withdrawal for a long time once I’m back in England!