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Perfect
W
HEN
I was
a child, a
zookeeper
brought
a Sun
Bear cub
towards
me. The cub placed its paw in my
hand and I was taken aback by the
sheer length of its claws. Even at
such a tender age, the bear had very
menacing claws! Most Malaysians
are unaware of the fact that there
are bears in their tropical rain forest.
The smallest of all bear species in
the world, the Sun Bear, roams the
tropical evergreen rainforests of
Borneo, Sumatra, and Peninsular
Malaysia.
Being omnivores by nature, they
feed on termites, ants, honey and figs.
They are usually solitary animals and
do not hibernate. Interestingly, the
female bears use natural tree hollows
as birthing sites. The two major
threats to sun bears are habitat loss
and commercial hunting. The sun
bear has been listed as a vulnerable
species on the International Union
for Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of
Threatened Species.
Being a Malaysian, I take pride in
the fact that The Bornean Sun Bear
Conservation Centre (BSBCC) is the
only sun bear conservation centre in
the world. It was founded in Sabah
in the year 2008 as a two-stage effort
to provide care, rehabilitation and
release of orphaned and captive
sun bears. It also aims to increase
awareness about these majestic bears.
For more information on these bears,
talk to the experts directly at www.
bsbcc.org.my.
Sun Bears in the
Sunny Tropics
Ravinder Kaur
shares her experience and her love
for these vulnerable creatures.
I m a g e s :
S a n j i t p a a l S i n g h w i t h t h a n k s t o t h e B o r n e a n S u n B e a r C o n s e r v a t i o n C e n t r e ( B S B C C )