Siew Te Wong's Sun Bear Journal

7/13/17

CEPA & CEPA Kit Programme 2017

18/6/2017

Starting from 16th June - 20th June 2017, BSBCC Education team joining the Sabah Forestry Department (SFD); Kinabatangan district for the CEPA & CEPA Kit Programme. CEPA stands for the "Conservation, Education, Participation and Awareness" Programme is a platform to convey knowledge and create awareness on the importance of wetlands among its inhabitants. With the theme of environmental education, this programme aims to deliver message and spread the knowledge of biodiversity conservation among local communities and school kids. Three schools are selected along the Ramsar site in Kinabatangan area which are SK Tidung Tabin, SK Tundon Bohangin and SK Sri Ganda. Hopefully, with this programme we can help to enhance the community engagement in wildlife conservation in Sabah.

SK Tidung Tabin - Intern students from Sabah Forestry Department giving introduction about Ramsar site in Kinabatangan.

SK Tidung Tabin

SK Tidung Tabin - Ms. Noorzeelah from HUTAn-KOCP delivering her talk about orang-utan in Sabah.

SK Tidung Tabin, Kinabatangan - Mr. SM Tukiman from the Royal Malaysia Police delivering his talk on drug abuse.

SK Tidung Tabin, Kinabatangan - School kids reading our bear profile.

SK Tidung Tabin, Kinabatangan - Ms. Risnayati explaining the function of enrichment materials to the school kids.

SK Tidung Tabin, Kinabatangan - Ms. Sharon showing a bear skull to the kids.

SK Tidung Tabin, Kinabatangan - Intern student from UPM explaining about the Ramsar site.

SK Tidung Tabin, Kinabatangan - Mr. Darwis from HUTAN-KOCP sharing his knowledge about the diet of orang-utan.

SK Tidung Tabin, Kinabatangan - Royal Malaysia Police and RELA team.

SK Tidung Tabin, Kinabatangan - Thanks all for the participation in this programme.

SK Tundon Bohangin, Kinabatangan - Ms. Sharon showing a bear profile and sharing their background history to the Pre-school students.

SK Tundon Bohangin, Kinabatangan - Mr. Johry from Sabah Forestry Department sharing his information about Ramsar site to the school teachers.

SK Tundon Bohangin, Kinabatangan Sun bear talk from Ms. Risnayati.

SK Tundon Bohangin, Kinabatangan - Token of appreciation from Sabah Forestry Department to the Headmaster of SK Tundon Bohangin.

SK Tundon Bohangin, Kinabatangan - Group photo.

SK Sri Ganda Kinabatangan - Ms. Risnayati introducing herself to the students before starting her talk on sun bear.

SK Sri Ganda Kinabatangan - Interactive students while Ms. Risnayati deliver her talk on sun bear.

SK Sri Ganda Kinabatangan

SK Sri Ganda Kinabatangan - Mr. SM Tukiman from the Royal Malaysia Police having a Q&A session with the students and teachers after delivering his talk on drug abuse.

SK Sri Ganda Kinabatangan - Mr. Adnan, Headmaster of SK Sri Ganda giving his appreciation speech to students and other organisations that involved.

SK Sri Ganda Kinabatangan - Token of appreciation from Sabah Forestry Department to the Headmaster of SK Sri Ganda.

SK Sri Ganda Kinabatangan - Token of appreciation from HUTAN-KOCP to the Headmaster of SK Sri Ganda .

SK Sri Ganda Kinabatangan - Token of appreciation from BSBCC to the Headmaster of SK Sri Ganda.

SK Sri Ganda Kinabatangan - group photo session.

6/24/17

Sun Bear Project in Tabin Wildlife Reserve, Sabah

13/6/2017

It is beautiful ♥

The sun bear is the smallest and least studied of the eight bear species in the world. Unfortunately, the number of sun bears is declining. Their population has decreased by 30 percent over the past 30 years and they are listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The causes for this decline are illegal poaching, illegal pet trade and habitat loss, putting their future in jeopardy.

The best thing you can do when survey for WILD sun bear signs in the deep of rainforest !

Our project of studying the wild sun bears in Tabin Wildlife Reserve has kicked off!!

Currently Thye Lim is running the project for his masters at Sunway University, and he is conducting this study to estimate the population density of sun bear. The study will be conducted in the biggest forest reserve in Sabah (Latitude 5°12’51”N and Longitude 118° 43’11”E). Tabin Wildlife Reserve was gazetted in 1984.

A total of twenty camera traps will be in use (Moultrie M-999i). One camera will be placed at each station. To increase the detection of sun bears, we set up camera traps along animal trails and on trees which had any signs of sun bears (e.g. claw marks), or on fig trees.

Finding sun bear sign

Collecting tree samples and data for those trees that found sun bear's claw mark

The team is setting up camera trap to detect presence of sun bear in Tabin Wildlife Reserve

Collecting tree samples and data for those trees that found sun bear's claw mark

Collecting tree samples and data for those trees that found sun bear's claw mark

Type of bear signs :

Claw marks

Tree- tears for termites

Diggings

Yellow arrow showing the tree nest

Amazing figs tree

One of the most interesting geological features of Tabin Wildlife Reserve is the mud volcanoes

Nest of a female bearded pig that made of saplings and branches of shrubs

This study is supported by the International Association for Bear Research and Management (IBA), Lancaster University (UK) and Sunway University (Malaysia). This is a collaborative project by Sabah Wildlife Department, Sabah Forestry Department and BSBCC.

There are fantastic pictures which have been taken by camera traps during our sun bear study and we will keep you updated on more photos as they come!