(MY) sun bears fighting for survival

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Tuesday August 8, 2006 - The Star

 

Fighting for survival

 

*By TAN CHENG LI

Photos by WONG SIEW TE*

 

*The world's smallest bear, the Malayan sun bear, faces a not-so-sunny

future as its natural habitat is fast diminishing and trails left by loggers

open the way for hunters who covet its body parts.*

 

BEAR #102 is a regular visitor at the base camp of Infapro, a forest

regeneration project at the Ulu Segama forest in Sabah. Under the cloak of

darkness, he would turn over rubbish bins, even break into staff quarters,

in search of a meal.

 

His other popular haunt is the field centre of the Danum Valley Conservation

Area close by, where he has been caught feasting on canned food and bottled

chillie sauce, among other things.

 

The antics of #102, a healthy male Malayan sun bear weighing 56kg, has been

closely watched by wildlife researcher Wong Siew Te, who has trapped and

radio-collared the animal. Wong named the bear what else but, Infapro.

 

Infapro is testimony to the fact that when civilisation encroaches into

the wilds – animals start invading pantries instead of foraging for jungle

edibles. Infapro is also " trap-happy " , having been recaptured twice. Bears

learn fast. Infapro knows that once trapped, he would not only get food and

be released but also gets a special treat, honey, which Wong uses to calm

trapped bears.

 

Wong is pursuing a three-year doctorate project on the effects of selective

logging on the species and bearded pigs. " By monitoring signals sent out by

the radio collars, I can locate and track the bears to find out their

habitat and home range, what they eat and what they do the whole day, " says

the student of University of Montana, United States.

 

He captured three bears within a week in September last year but these days,

he finds other animals, civet cats, in particular, in the traps.

Remote-sensing automatic cameras (or camera traps) reveal three other bears

but these have ignored the baits.

 

The other radio-collared bear is #103 or Bruno, a 45kg male. Locating and

tracking Bruno has been difficult as he seldom strays from his rugged

forested home, unlike Infapro who prefers the easier route – dirt roads.

 

Over two hours' drive from Lahad Datu, Wong's project site covers the virgin

Danum Valley Conservation Area and the logged Ulu Segama forest reserve next

door. From 1998 to 2000, while studying the ecology of sun bears there for

his Masters degree, he had radio-collared six bears and gained much insight

into the mammal, which is the least studied of the world's eight bear

species.

 

" I call Malayan sun bears the forgotten bear species, " says Wong, 37. " It is

Malaysia's only bear species but get so little attention. "

 

With so little known about the species, its conservation status is uncertain

and the IUCN (World Conservation Union) has classified it as " data

deficient " .

 

But Wong fears that sun bears are endangered as they are highly dependent on

forests, which are fast diminishing. " No one knows their population but one

thing we do know is that they number fewer than orang utans. So if orang

utans are endangered, sun bears are even more endangered. "

 

In fact, the low trapping success at Danum hints at a sparse population.

Another ominous sign – Wong has not encountered any of his previously

radio-collared bears. He does not know why but thoughts of hunters at work

never strayed from his mind.

 

Though a protected species, sun bears are still poached for their meat, paws

and gall bladders, which purportedly have health benefits. Natives, in the

past, wear bear claws and canines to drive away evil spirits.

 

*Famine in the forest*

 

Sun bear survival hangs on intact forests for as the green cover thins, so

does food supply. Logging, says Wong, not only removes tall trees which

bears sleep in but also damages the figs and oaks which feed them. Logging

roads also create convenient access for poachers.

 

Contrary to popular belief, food is not always abundant in the moist

tropical jungle. " The rainforest is a harsh environment. Forest production

is low except during mass fruiting season and small sporadic fruiting in

between, " says Wong.

 

His previous study documented a famine in Ulu Segama. Much to his misery, he

found eight sun bears and many bearded pigs which were all skin and bones.

Two radio-collared bears later died from starvation.

 

Wong believes weather changes, and habitat changes brought on by logging,

had altered fruiting cycles and eventually led to the famine. He fears the

impact of a future famine.

 

Now we protect sun bears only on paper. Policing against hunters and illegal

trade in bear parts is poor, as are surveys on sun bear distribution and

population. Wong says the lack of knowledge hinders conservation efforts.

 

To plug the information gap, he will embark on a year-long project to map

sun bear distribution in the country. This will pinpoint areas of

conservation priorities.

 

Other hurdles are public ignorance and the problem of captive bears. Sun

bears are popular zoo exhibits but they really do not belong in a cramped

artificial environment, being creative and exploratory by nature.

 

Cute and cuddly cubs kept as pets quickly outgrow their appeal and are

conveniently surrendered to wildlife authorities. Captive bears cannot fend

for themselves in the wild and in Sabah, many end up at Sepilok Orang Utan

Rehabilitation Centre in Sandakan – simply because the facility has cages to

spare.

 

Visits to Sepilok often leaves Wong depressed as he sees bears pacing in

tiny cages, shaking their heads. Bent on improving the bears' living

conditions, he has raised funds to build a recreation pen with climbing

structures for the 11 bears there.

 

But another 20 bears remain caged in deplorable facilities in zoos and

private parks in the state but cannot be seized as Sepilok no longer has

room. Lacking a place to house captive sun bears, Sabah Wildlife Department

in 2004 released 10 individuals into Deramakot forest reserve but there are

no checks on their survival. It also sent 10 bears to American zoos in 1996

and again in 2000.

 

To shelter captive and displaced bears, Wong has proposed a sun bear

sanctuary at Tabin Wildlife Reserve, 50km from Lahad Datu. Talks have gone

on for three years but funds fell short.

 

Like many overlooked species, sun bears compete for conservation attention

with species such as the Sumatran rhinoceros, Malayan tigers, Asian

elephants and orang utans.

 

But with their home seized by loggers and planters, and hunters after their

body parts, sun bears face a bleak future and surely, deserve more

conservation care.

 

*For more information, go to www.borneanbearpigproject.org or

www.wongsiewte.org*

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Friend of bears

 

*By Tan Cheng Li*

 

WONG Siew Te can talk for hours on end about sun bears. His passion for his

study subject is genuine and apparent; so it comes as a surprise to hear

that he never actually chose to study them.

 

" It was by chance, " says the gregarious researcher from Bukit Mertajam,

Penang, who had always wanted to work with animals and had bred dogs, fish

and birds as a teenager.

 

As a student of wildlife biology at University of Montana, United States in

1994, he had attended a talk by Dr Christopher Servheen, the co-chair of the

IUCN (World Conservation Union) group on bears. Wong later enquired about

projects on sun bears out of curiosity and co-incidentally, Servheen was

looking for a Malaysian to study the animal. A decision was pretty much made

there and then; Wong will research into sun bears for his Masters programme.

 

 

In preparation for the project, he spent summer breaks as a field assistant

with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in research on grizzly and

black bears, a routine which continued even after he started his doctorate

programme in 2002.

 

His experience in handling over 100 wild bears, mostly black bears in the

Cabinet-Yaak Wilderness in Montana, proves invaluable for his fieldwork in

Sabah.

 

A typical day at Danum Valley sees Wong checking traps for successful

captures. When he gets a bear, he first sedates it and then spends up to 90

minutes taking measurements, checking its health and getting blood and hair

samples (for future population genetic studies). Wong is adept at this,

backed up by a diploma in animal science and veterinary and tenure as

wildlife research assistant in Taiwan.

 

He also tattoos an identification number on its inner lip and attaches an

ear tag, before attaching a radio transmitter collar. A nylon " spacer "

attachment prevents the collar from staying on permanently. Once frayed, the

spacer tears, allowing the collar to drop off for retrieval.

 

" Because of their shy, secretive nature and dense tropical forest habitat,

it is impossible to study sun bears from direct observation like studying

primates or Africa's wildlife. So I use radio-telemetry and camera traps for

my research, " explains Wong.

 

While he tirelessly stalks the roamings of sun bears in Sabah, his Taiwanese

wife and two daughters, age five and one and a half, remain in Taipei. " I

last saw them during Chinese New Year (February) but we talk on the computer

every day, " he says with a hint of longing in his voice.

 

Such sacrifices aside, Wong is thankful for the opportunity to study the

species. " The more I learn about sun bears, the more I know they need help

and the more I worry for them. They will remain my focus for now since no

one is working on them and I have accumulated much experience and knowledge

about the species. "

 

For the sake of the long-ignored sun bear, one certainly hopes that he will

maintain stewardship of protecting the world's smallest bear.

 

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Malayan sun bear facts

 

*RANGE:* Tropical forests in Indochina, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia,

Sumatra and Borneo.

 

*Species*: The Bornean sub-species *Helarctos malayanus eurispylus* is

smaller than the one in Sumatra and mainland Asia, *H. m. malayanus.*

 

*Description: *The smallest of all bear species, an adult measures between

120cm and 150cm long and weighs up to 65kg. Named for the golden or white

" U " shape patch on their chests, sun bears are otherwise all black with

smooth, short fur. The chest marking varies in size and shape; this differs

from moon bears which have a specific crescent shape patch.

 

*Diet:* Figs, acorns, seeds, termites, ants, beetles, larva, honey, wild

fruits and tortoises.

 

*Behaviour:* Claws of up to 15cm-long make them skilful climbers. They sleep

on branches and in tree cavities but do not hibernate because food is

available year round. Cubs stay with their mothers until adulthood.

 

*Ecological role:* They help disperse seeds.

 

*Threats:* They are endangered due to habitat loss (from logging and

plantations), poaching (for bear products), pet and zoo trade.

 

*Protection:* Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species prohibits trade of sun bear and its parts. " Totally

Protected " in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah, sun bears cannot be hunted,

kept or sold. A " Protected " species in Sarawak, a licence is needed to kill,

capture, sell or keep them as pets.

 

*Other bear species:* Polar bear, brown bear (or grizzly bear), American

black bear, Asiatic black bear (or moon bear), Andean bear (or spectacled

bear), sloth bear and giant panda.