UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA STUDENT FIGHTS TO SAVE SUN BEARS

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http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/8/8/lifefocus/14890978 & sec=\

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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.

 

Wildlife biologist Wong Siew Te taking the measurements of a Malayan sun

bear, checking its health and getting blood and hair samples. – Photo by

WONG SIEW TE

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.