(MY) A sunnier future?

[Guest guest]

The Star, Malaysia

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/

 

Tuesday, August 14, 2001

Environment

 

While the endangered Malaysian sun bear is also being sent off to foreign

zoos, the programme seems much more transparent and controlled than efforts

to export elephants.

A mournful looking sun bear on its way to its new home in the United States.

 

FIVE groups were drawn together in 1994 by their concern for the Malaysian

sun bear, or honey bear. The American Zoo and Aquarium Association, the Sun

Bear Species Survival Plan (SSP) group, the New York-based Wildlife

Conservation Society, the Sabah Wildlife Department and Sabah's Sepilok

Orang Utan Sanctuary decided that the sun bears in Sabah needed help to

survive so they formulated a plan to place the animals in breeding

programmes within North American zoos.

 

Why can't we protect these bears ourselves? Well, for one thing, up until

1997, sun bears, and elephants for that matter, could be legally hunted or

kept as pets if you had the proper licence even though these animals were

endangered and were supposed to be protected. While this is no longer

possible, the bears now face the problem that bedevils almost all wild

animals: loss of habitat. Even today, cubs are taken home by children who

think they have been abandoned, when the mother bear is actually just away

looking for food. Other cubs wind up as pets illegally when their mothers

are killed, often for profit, sometimes for medicinal use.

 

Sun Bear SSP's North American coordinator, Cheryl Frederick (who was in

Malaysia last year to supervise transfer of some bears to American zoos),

says that most of the bears that have been placed in foreign zoos were

brought in by people who found that they made cute pets when they're young,

but were too much to handle as they grew older. Research has shown that pet

bears older than six months cannot be rehabilitated and safely released into

the wild.

 

" They were all ex-pet bears that were non-releasable into the wild. They had

learned that humans were a source of food and lacked the skills to find food

for themselves, " she explains.

 

The Sun Bear SSP drew up a master plan for a captive breeding programme, as

this Bornean subspecies is highly endangered. Frederick says that the zoos

will also create sun bear exhibits to raise public awareness and raise funds

for future research.

 

" There is a desperate need for (research) since, of the eight species of

bear in the world, sun bears are the least studied and, therefore, the least

understood, " points out Frederick.

 

To date, 20 sun bears have been sent to the United States to be distributed

to participating zoos. The first shipment of 10 animals was sent in

September 1996 and comprised one male and nine females ranging in age from

one year to 11 years. The rest were sent in May last year and comprised four

males and six females ranging from nine months to 14 years old.

 

Once in the zoos, Frederick says the bears have lots of space to be

introduced to their potential mates, and they have separate quarters for

females about to give birth. The pitter-patter of little feet has yet to be

heard, though - it seems the males have not been up to the mark.

 

The programme with the American zoos is a precursor for a sun bear breeding

programme in Sabah. Training for Sabah Wildlife staff on breeding and zoo

management is part of the deal.

 

Following the 1996 shipment, the then Sepilok supervisor, Dr Edwin Bosi, and

Sabah Wildlife director Patrick @ Mahedi Andau were sent to the United

States to research the latest techniques for reintroducing bears and dealing

with problem bears. They also looked at holding areas and exhibit design

techniques in preparation for a new zoo in Sabah.

 

Though the zoo has yet to materialise, a reliable source says there are

efforts underway to set it up at Lukawi, 25km from Kota Kinabalu. Whether

the zoo will ever be built is doubtful, but the education continues and, to

date, at least 10 Sabah Wildlife staff members have been trained. Frederick

says there are also plans to send Sepilok's current supervisor and

veterinarian to the United States. He will exchange information on the care

of captive Asian species, and train with specialists in various aspects of

veterinary medicine. - By S.S. Yoga

 

FACT FILE

 

SUN bears, also known as honey bears, are truly remarkable animals.

They have the longest tongues, the most curved claws, and spend the most

time in the trees of any species of bear.

 

They feed mostly on insects, fruits and honey. They are not a threat

to people in any way and, like most wild animals, are only dangerous if

threatened. Unless their cubs are threatened or they are cornered, the bear

will run away rather than confront a human being. It is usually only the

loss of their habitat that brings them into contact with people.

 

There are very few sun bears left, though exact numbers are not known.

The Bornean subspecies, which is far smaller than sun bears found in other

parts of Asia (and sun bears are already the smallest of all bear species),

is found only on the island of Borneo.