Thank you Nikon! You rock! – Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre

Thank you Nikon! You rock! – Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre

It all started three months ago when I was invited to be one of the speakers of the Bornean Eco Film Festival (BEFF) in Sandakan. Among the speakers who gave presentations during BEFF was Wong Kok Jen, also known as KJ. KJ is the Technical Support Executive from Nikon Malaysia. He is an energetic young man who can speak about Nikon cameras for hours if not days when he has the chance to do so. Nikon was one of the sponsors of the festival and also a very generous one. There were always all kind of gifts for lucky audience and participants including cameras at different events! Unfortunately the fortune for me, BSBCC or the sun bear was always the unlucky audience. I really wish that we could win a camera from Nikon or ask Nikon to sponsor us with a good camera so that can take high quality photos of sun bear. After all, BSBCC is the only place in the world where you can take photos or video of sun bears in their natural environment and their natural behavior.

We invited KJ and the Nikon representative from Sandakan, Ms Irene to our centre after the film festival. They were impressed by our work to conserve sun bear and see a lot potential where they can help us. After months of communication, KJ visited us again last weekend, not empty handed this time but with two cameras in a big Nikon bag. Through KJ, Nikon Malaysia is very generous to donate two cameras, a Nikon D5000 Digital SLR and Nikon 1 J1 to BSBCC!

KJ (left) delivered the camera to me witnessed by project manager Wai Pak and volunteers.

Thank you KJ and Nikon Malaysia! I hope the sponsorship continues. Besides donating cameras there are many items that Nikon as a big international corporate can help us. This is another good example of “do what you do best to help sun bears”!

Yesterday I tried the new D5000 when I walked Mary the sun bear in the forest. These are some of the photos taken. It really tells a different!

Thank you Nikon! You rock!

Photos of Mary taken by the new Nikon D5000 camera.

When Mary met monkeys – Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre

When Mary met monkeys – Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre

Few days ago Mary the sun bear and I spent the afternoon in the forest like we usually do. Suddenly we have a visitor when Mary was busy looking for termites in this spectacular liana (vine). It was a pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina). The macaque came right on top of us to feed on the fruits of kunau-kunau (local name) (Baccaurea tetandra, Family Euphobiaceae)

Few minutes later, more macaques came to check us out. We were literally surrounded by them. Pig-tailed macaques are a common primate species found in the forest of SE Asia. They share their forest habitat with sun bears. At Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, pig-tailed macaques are one of the five common primate species. Other four primates are orangutans, long-tailed macaques, red leaf monkeys, and human!

Watch the interaction between Mary the sun bear and the macaques in this video.

Feel free to share it with your friends too!

BSBCC LATEST NEWS – October 2011 – Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre

BSBCC LATEST NEWS – October 2011 – Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre

http://leapspiral.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/bsbcc-latest-news-october-2011/

STILL THEY COME…

BSBCC has become home to three more bears since July!

On 23^rd July BSBCC helped Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) in the rescue of an illegally kept captive sun bear from a palm oil plantation near Lahad Datu, southeast Sabah. Named Amaco, the 18 year old male was in fairly good health apart from bad teeth and mouth condition, having been fed on a diet consisting almost solely of rice and sweetened condensed milk. Amaco has been given medical treatment and has been temporarily housed in the old bear house and is slowly relaxing and settling in.

Amaco in the barren cage where he had been kept for 18 years

Dr Diana Ramirez from SWD and Wai Pak checking the anaesthetized bear before transfer to BSBCC.

The following month, Fulung, a 9 month old male cub was brought to BSBCC by SWD staff, after being surrendered to the SWD Wildlife Rescue Unit by a villager from a remote part of southwest Sabah who had had the cub for several months, after hunting dogs had apparently found it in the forest. Fulung was malnourished on arrival but is now putting on weight and is being kept temporarily in the old bear house under quarantine. Read more stories about Fulung.

Baby Fulung just after capture by the villagers. Fulung means ‘forest’ in the local language.

Fulung about to begin his long journey from the village after being rescued by SWD.

An impressive sun bear tongue displayed by Fulung at BSBCC!

A third new sun bear, Mary, arrived from Lok Kawi Wildlife Park on 12^th September 2011. A female cub, possibly 6-8 months old, Mary had been kept by villagers in central Sabah since July. She shows signs of malnutrition and calcium deficiency but otherwise appears healthy, and has also been placed in quarantine in the old bear house. Read more about Mary.

Wong with Mary the night she arrived at BSBCC, drinking milk for the first time after 3 months of captivity.

Mary sucking on her right foot – a common behavior in sun bear cubs who have lost their mothers.

Wai Pak feeding Mary a special treat of honey.

CONSTRUCTION STARTS!

A contract has finally been awarded to a local company for the construction of the BSBCC Observation Platform and trails to it, access boardwalk from the car park and upgrading of roads and drainage. Construction commenced at the end of September and should be finished by March 2012. Watch this space! Read more…

The observation platform trail under construction.

SPREADING THE WORD

Wong participated in the 20^th International Conference on Bear Research and Management in Ottawa, Canada in July 2011, presenting a jointly authored paper on ‘The effects of selective logging on sun bears in lowland dipterocarp rainforest of Borneo’, and on October 1^st gave a talk on BSBCC and sun bears at the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Over 40 people attended and the event was covered by the national press. Read more…

Wong at the MNS talk. Photo by Christopher Leo

In September, BSBCC was thrilled to receive a donation of GBP500 (RM2,426.05) from International Aid for the Protection and Welfare of Animals, IAPWA, a UK based NGO, to be spent on purchasing ceiling fans for the new bear house. Read more…

KEEPING COOL!

Three wall fans and 4 ceiling fans were installed on 16th September 2011; thank you IAPWA!

VOLUNTEERS

Both individual and group volunteers continue to be an essential and much appreciated asset at BSBCC. Here are some of the activities some of the recent individual volunteers have been up to.

Collecting fallen branches to use for enrichment.

Creative arrangement of foliage in Fulung’s pen.

Preparing rice porridge for bears in the new bear house kitchen.

BEAR HEALTH

September was the time for the annual health check for most of the bears – a routine medical assessment of their overall health, potential sicknesses, internal organ function and physical condition. It was also a chance to give vitamins and de-worming injections and take blood samples and even hair samples for future DNA studies. Read more…

Dr Diana Ramirez, SWD Wildlife Rescue Unit vet, taking blood samples from an anaesthetized bear with help from SWD staff Elis, and Wong.

Wong and Wai Pak carrying out the medical check on Susie in the new bear house.

FILMS AND FILM STARS!

The end of July saw the first ever Borneo Eco Film Festival, held in Sandakan, Sabah. Always eager to raise local awareness, Wong gave a presentation on ‘The holistic approaches of Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre to conserve sun bears in Sabah’ and there was a showing of the 20 minute promo film “BEAR TREK” by Wildlife Media Inc. featuring Wong carrying out his research at Danum Valley in Sabah. The event was well attended and, hopefully, the first of many highlighting and showcasing Borneo! Read more…

Wong becoming something of a film star himself!

Actor and avid conservation supporter Jason Scott Lee visited BSBCC on 24^th September 2011 as part of an eco-travelogue being filmed throughout Malaysia for National Geographic. Jason spent a whole day filming at the Centre, enthusiastically taking part in cleaning of the bear pens, feeding the bears in the forest enclosures and walking Mary the sun bear cub in the forest. Read more…

A new sun bear supporter – Hollywood actor Jason Scott Lee!

Jason observing Wong with Mary in the forest.

Sun Bear Diary- Mary finally climbs! – Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre

Sun Bear Diary- Mary finally climbs! – Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre











Sun bear is an arboreal bear.

In the wild, they spend a lot of their time resting, sleeping, and foraging on tree canopy of Southeast Asian rainforest.

Like Mary, sun bear cub learns how to climb when they are young.

Their mother will bring their cubs to look for food when they are capable to move around.

At the age of 4 or 5 months old, sun bear cubs are capable of walking, running and climbing.

So what is a big deal of Mary climbing a tree at the age of 9 month?

Mary is not an ordinary sun bear cub.

Her mother was probably killed by poacher when she was about three months old.

She was then captured by the poacher and kept as a house pet.

Her owner has no knowledge of raise a sun bear cub.

They did not give Mary milk, which is the most important food for all baby mammals.

Because of that, she lacked sufficient nutrient for her growth and development, such as calcium and other minerals to build bones in her body.

Mary has a relatively small body when Sabah Wildlife Department rescued her and sent to Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre.

Her body was relatively short and small.

She cannot walk and run properly like other sun bear cub her age.

She has weak limbs and walk slowly. Clumsy, so to speak.

We believe Mary suffered from calcium deficiency.

We hope she can overcome this problem and grow well under the care of Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre.

Today she was climbing this dead tree and trying to find food in the tree.

Although she failed to find any termite or ant colony, she did well on her climbing skill.

This is a big start and a good progress for Mary the sun bear to start her new life at Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC)

Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre aims to conserve sun bear through education, research, rehabilitation, and improve welfare for captive orphan sun bears.

We need your help to achieve these goals

Please visit http://sunbears.wildlifedirect.org to learn more

Please help us spread the words and spread the loves http://sunbears.wildlifedirect.org/

Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre

http://sunbears.wildlifedirect.org

Big tree little bear and tiny termites – Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre

Big tree little bear and tiny termites – Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre

Text, photos, and video by Siew Te Wong











Yesterday when I walked little Mary in the forest, she stopped at the base of this huge dipterocarp tree. The scene was just amazed me: “big tree, little bear” was what came out from my mind immediately. It was a peaceful time we spent in the forest under the big tree. Mary was busy digging the nests of termite and ant and feeding furiously on the angry insects that swamped out from their broken home. The big tree stood there like a giant with no fear. The sound of the cicadas and other unknown insects rumbled like there is no tomorrow: they have to mate now!

Big tree little bear!

The big tree, the little sun bear, and the tiny termites all need one other to survive. Female sun bears den in the hollowed tree trunk or cavities of huge trees in the forest when they give birth and nurse helpless baby for months. These cavities are the safest den for the female sun bears because they are relatively dry in the ever wet and moist rainforest (rainforest always rain!), relative cold in the hot mid tropical day, and relatively warm at night (tropical rainforest may get cold at night because of the rain and high humidity). There is simply no other better den site that a sun bear can find in the forest then a large tree with cavities or hollowed. The trees are huge, like this one, with a diameter of at least one meter (3 feet) and a height of 30 m (100 feet) or more. They are probably very old – at least few hundred years old too! In return, sun bears are opportunistic omnivores that feed on termites, beetles and other forest insects that kill trees (forest pest, so to speak). By feeding on the termite colonies and other insects, the sun bears act as forest “doctors” that keep these insects at “healthy levels”. The tiny termites, feed on the woody materials in the forest, both alive and dead. And the cycle go on and on..

Here comes a problem for sun bear in the human altered landscape: these forest giants are getting rare in logged forest because they are targeted for timber market and sell for a lot of money. In Borneo, most of the remaining forests are being selectively logged except few totally protected forest reserves that remain as undisturbed primary forests. The lack of large trees with cavity may post a challenge for female sun bears to find suitable den sites and successfully raise cubs.

Big trees little bears and tiny termites, all need one other to survive. Are we wise enough to keep all of them in the forest? For sure the termites will survive. But I am not sure about the sun bears and the big trees. Only time will tell!

Is Mary climbing on a vertical wall?

No, is the buttress of the big tree!

Mary digging out a termite colony in this fallen tree.

Still working hard…

This hollowed tree was being fell by logger but abandoned because of the hollowness and low value. The cavity has become an important den site for sun bear.

Sun bear den in the lowland rainforest of Danum. There is a pile of a sun bear faces at the bottom left of the photo.

I found one of my studied wild sun bear in this cavity of a huge standing tree.