Save the Sun Bear

Sun Bears have been around for up to 2 million years and yet so little is known about this intelligent and elusive creature. In 1999 the IUCN7 declared that ‘basic research on the sun bear is the highest priority research need’. Since then, there have been few intensive studies of sun bears in the wild. This lack of information poses a challenge to conservation efforts.

Sun Bears are small, weighing only 30 – 65 kg. They do not hibernate like other bears and the mother dotes on her cub with the focused care reminiscent of human mothers until the cub is fully grown. Sun bears love honey and they spend a lot of time in trees, even sleeping in them. They appear to be solitary by nature but no one knows for sure. They spend their days foraging for food but in human disturbed areas they become more nocturnal.

About the Project

As local awareness of the sun bear grew, confiscations of illegally held bears increased and Samboja Lestari very soon became home to 52 sun bears. At first, the centre lacked adequate facilities to properly care for these bears and had no alternative but to stop accepting them. Three 1ha outdoor enclosures were created for them and 58 hectares of forested land was set aside to create an even larger sanctuary for the bears. Unfortunately, a lack of funds held back the developments that were necessary to make this area useable. This meant that many of the male bears who fought were confined to enclosures that were too small and lacked stimulation.

In September 2008, however, the lives of these sun bears were transformed. Animal behaviourist Darek Figa and his team developed an innovative new enrichment program and successfully housed uncastrated male bears for the first time in large groups, enabling them to access the 1 ha enclosures in groups peacefully.

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