Sunbears
This is my page about the sunbears at Matang Wildlife Centre. Click below for the latest updates:
- February 2008 – Sunbear Release
- February 2008 – Sunbears see the sun (videos)
Sunbears
At Matang Wildlife Centre there is a quarantine area which houses any new animals bought into the centre, 4 sunbears in quarantine have been given an outside enclosure built by local labourers as the first step to a bear rehabilitation programme supported by Sarawak Forestry. The plan is that these bears will start to learn how to live more naturally and with the help of volunteers and staff will be provided with enrichment based on natural foraging and also a diet similar to that they would find for themselves in the forest, I am very pleased to be involved in this project and the plan is for this to start early January when I return. This will be the first sunbear rehabilitation programme in the world.
The new half acre enclosure has been adapted to include night dens where the bears will sleep at night as, contrary to popular belief, they are actually not nocturnal. During the day the bears will have access to the outdoor enclosure that has been designed by world class experts and will help them to learn natural behaviors and interact with the environment, assisting with their future rehabilitation into the wild.
Here are some photos of thier new enclosure and night dens 
And now they’re more than happy in thier new enclosure
January 28, 2008 at 12:33 am |
Having donated money for bears through the WWLF having seen bears in pits in Denmark, it is wonderful to see these unusual and different animals, being protected here.
January 20, 2009 at 3:03 pm |
Hi Heather!
Great to find your website (recommended by WOX). I am Chairman of new charity (affiliated with BSBCC), Bornean Sun Bear Conservation UK and would love to discuss the bears and any ideas you have for UK fund-raising etc that could be of help to us. Anyone interested in knowing more about BSBCUK and/or how they can get involved they can e-mail me on:- julie.trump@btinternet.com
Also we are featured on:- http://www.sunbears.wildlifedirect.org
http:/ecoparpararazzi.ning.com/profile/JulieTrumpLynch
January 20, 2009 at 3:04 pm |
Sorry – I spelt website incorrectly, should be:
http://ecopaparazzi.ning.com/profile/JulieTrumpLynch
January 20, 2009 at 3:10 pm |
Hi Heather, I hope you don’t mind me posting this to help raise awareness for the sun bears. Thanks!
Category: BSBCC, conservation | Date: Jan 11 2009 | By: Siew Te Wong
Below is a message that was written by Julie Trump, a volunteer who worked at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center and the bear at BSBCC last year. Julie fall in love immediately with the sun bears at the center after taking care of them during her stay at the center for sometime to learn more about them and their plights. After returning to her home country in UK, Julie has helped us setting up Bornean Sun Bear Conservation UK, a charity organization in UK that will help us fundraising and raise conservation awareness in UK. I would like to say a big THANK YOU to Julie and all of her friends who are helping us setting up BSBC-UK. I really hope this charity organization marks a new era of sun bear conservation in UK and the rest of the world!Long live the sun bears!
————————————————————
Since returning last summer from a second visit to Borneo and seeing the endearing sun bears again, I have been fund-raising in the UK to help in some way to raise, not only money but also awareness for the sun bears at Sepilok, in Sabah and try to help the good work of Siew Te Wong and the team for the BSBCC. I have been fortunate enough to have kept in contact with other ex-volunteers and bear fans as well as being introduced to others keen to help the cause by Siew Te Wong. Following his encouragement and support we now have a charity bank account for ‘Bornean Sun Bear Conservation UK’ with the aim of registering the charity with the UK Charities Commission this year. Towards the end of 2008 I ran in a sponsored half-marathon and organised a charity fashion sale and have two more events planned for this month and February. The other girls, Anna, Lindsey, Fiona and Rebecca are also planning events. All monies raised will be collected and transferred to the BSBCC in Borneo via the UK charity. It would be great if anyone out there would be interested in helping us with the charity, so please contact me at the following e-mail address if you would like to know more or have any ideas or donations.
E-mail Julie Trump, Newbury Park, Essex at:-julie.trump@btinternet.com
Julie was at the front page of the Metro after winning a medal in the Half Marathon where she proudly wore BSBCC T-shirt and successfully raised £500.
The half-marathon was ‘The Royal Parks Half-Marathon’ that took place for the first time last year on Sunday 12th October through London, mostly around Hyde Park and also past Buckingham Palace and across the River Thames.