Sun bears are keystone species, helping sustain healthy tropical forests. Yet they’re facing relentless challenges to their survival from deforestation, habitat degradation, poaching and indiscriminate snaring; fewer than 10,000 are thought to remain across the species’ entire global range.
SABAH, Malaysia — The 3-year-old sun bear sits teddy bear-like in a secluded grassy glade in its rainforest enclosure. Its soft, densely furred belly vibrates as it sucks on one of its front paws, emitting a series of strange, guttural whimpers. Its head downturned, the young bear looks up at us shyly with deep brown eyes, penetrating our human instinct to care for the vulnerable.
Given the mixed success of the release program, Wong says rehabilitation alone will never be enough to tackle the enormous threats and conservation issues facing the bears in the wild. But the results have given Wong and his team renewed resolve to make sure that sun bears are never poached from the wild in the first place.
While biologists don’t know how many sun bears remain in Sabah — the species has been surprisingly little-studied throughout its range —the BSBCC typically receives three to five wild-born sun bear cubs each year, representing what Wong terms an “alarming” rate of loss that threatens the species’ survival in the wild.
For most of the bears, stepping into the outdoor enclosures is their first experience of their natural habitat since they were stolen from the wild at infancy. The setting is impressive. Here and there, gigantictrees shoot boldly 40 meters or more into the sky. In between these monoliths grows a lush profusion of forest that enables the bears to live as naturally as possible, giving them the chance to learn wild skills like foraging and climbing.
Overlooking the ten rainforest enclosures at the BSBCC that enable resident bears to develop wild survival skills like foraging and climbing. Image by Bruno Gonzalez for Mongabay. Sun bears use their formidable claws to manipulate and open fruit, in addition to prizing open wood and digging in soil for other types of food. Image by Carolyn Cowan for Mongabay.
A three-year-old sun bear named Itam is sedated and fitted with a radio collar to track her movements in her enclosure to assess whether she is ready for release back into the wild. Image by Bruno Gonzalez for Mongabay.
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