Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Center (BSBCC)

DR.Wong Siew Te  the CEO and founder of BSBCC.

The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) was found in Sabah Next to Sepilok – Sandakan), in 2008. It was the brain child of Dr. Siew Te D.J.N who is the CEO and Founder of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. Thanks to Sabah Wildlife Department, Sabah Forestry Department, LEAP, many individual funders, supporters, partners and volunteers, BSBCC which was a dream of his, has now grown

Sun Bear.

to be a reality and is the only one of its kind in Malaysia. The Malayan sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), found only in Southeast Asia, is the
world’s smallest bear species. While Borneo is a remaining stronghold for this species, it is seriously threatened and if not already extinct, in many areas of mainland Asia, including India, Bangladesh, China, Burma and Vietnam.

Sun Bear.

The Bornean sun bear is even smaller than the sun bears of mainland Asia and The face a very similar plight to the plight of the Orang Utans. Firstly they are very cute, especially the baby cubs. Many people are attracted to keeping the cubs as Pets (not a good idea as they can turn defensive when they are older). Most people have no idea about how to care for the bears and consequently these bear are often kept in small cages without proper conditions. Besides being kept as pets, some of the other main threats to their survival are forest degradation and destruction. Sun bears are also hunted illegally as food and supposedly traditional medicines (including their gall bladders). As their habitat is lost, and so is their source of food, some of these bears does enter villagers’ fruit orchards and fields in search of food and cause damage to their crops. Today, the Malayan sun bear is listed on Appendix I of CITES and it is now illegal to kill or hunt these bears in Sabah (1997 Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment)

The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre currently has 35 bears in residence. Conservationists are nursing them back to health and where necessary, educating the bears in how to be a wild bear again with the intention to release them into the forest once again. As so few people know about the sun bears, including Malaysian and Indonesians, the Centre is also involved in education and raising the animal's profile.

Some of the key achievements of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre are:

Phase 1:

2009 April: Construction of the 1st Bear house and 1st forest enclosure started;

2010 April: Completion of the 1st New Bear House and the 1st Forest enclosure; 12 rescued sun bears moved into the new bear house;

Phase 2:

2011 August: construction of the Observation platform, access boardwalk begun.

2012 August: completion of the Construction of the Observation platform, and access boardwalk.

Phase 3:

2013 April: Construction of the 2nd Bear House and renovation of the visitor center started.

2013 December: Construction of the 2nd Bear house and visitor center completed.

2014 January: Soft opening of BSBCC

2014 October: Grand Opening of BSBCC

Today visitors are welcome to visit the BSBCC and it is open open daily from 9.00am to 3.30pm.

Entry fees are fixed at RM2 my -card holders between the ages of 12 – 17, and RM 5.00 for those above 17.

The entry fees for non- my card holders are RM15 and RM30 between the ages of 12-17 and above the age of 17 respectively.

Text by David de la Harpe Photos courtesy of BSCC