BORNEAN SUN BEAR CONSERVATION CENTRE

by Helle Enderby · Published September 3, 2020 · Updated September 3, 2020

arriving at BSBCC with the kids — Finally visiting Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre with the kids

Dr Wong and young visitors — Dr. Wong and the young visitors

Finally, this summer we made it across to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC), a place the kids and I have dreamt of visiting for a very long time. We were really impressed with the set up and the facilities these much deserving sun bears have, many of which have been rescued from captivity, to live out their natural behaviour whilst being cared for, learn “wild” skills and prepped for a life back in the wild, if and when they are ready for release.

Nice info graphics and photos with names of the bears

Can't beat meeting a Wildlife Action Hero — Can’t beat hearing it direct from a Wildlife Action Hero!

BEAR TREATS

Donating fruit to the bears — Sun Bears have powerful claws and can easily tear open coconuts

An enourmous jackfruit for the bears — An enormous Jackfruit for the bears – what a treat!

We had heard that two young cubs had recently been rescued and are now looked after at BSBCC and so we brought some special treats for them and their new bear family i.e. Tarap, Jackfruit and coconuts.

SUN BEARS AND WILD BUNCH BAGS

A great facility for learning "Wild" Beak Skills and for chilling out in the midday tropical heat — A great facility for learning “wild Sun Bear” skills and for chilling out in the midday tropical heat

Dr. Wong, founder of BSBCC, kindly gave us a tour of the centre and told us all about its residents. We even got a glimpse of Joe, a young Sun Bear we adopted last year, using the money we raised from the sales of the first Wild Bunch Bags and what a gorgeous and content looking bear he is.

Touring the Sun Bear Centre with Dr Wong

Our boys know Dr. Wong from his visits to the school where he has given talks to the students numerous times about about Sun Bears and wildlife conservation. He is a big idol in our household and a true ‘Wildlife Action Hero’ in Borneo, so the boys were very pleased with an opportunity to give him a Wild Bunch Bag on behalf of Kinabalu International School (KIS) as a small token of appreciation for his contribution educating kids about conservation. The bag features a drawing of a Sun Bear by student Marsya and facts about Sun Bears along with information about the Wild Bunch Bags campaign that has taken place at KIS this year.

A small token of appreciating for coming to talk to the students at Kinabalu International School — A small token of appreciation for coming to Kinabalu International School and teaching the kids about Sun Bears and conservation

You can help raise money for conservation of Sun Bears if you buy a reusable Wild Bunch Sun Bear Bag as 100% of the profits from the sales are donated to BSBCC. The bags are currently for sale at KIS (and soon online) at the school shop.

Dr Wong with the Sun Bear Wild Bunch Bag

The bag features Sun Bear artwork and facts and is an excellent "green" substitute for plastic bags — The bag features Sun Bear artwork and facts and is an excellent “green” substitute for plastic bags

FISHING WITH DR. WONG

Fishing at BSBCC — Fishing with Dr. Wong – what a bonus!

It was not all sun bears at BSBCC – turns out Dr. Wong is a big fan of fish and aquariums and he was brave enough to take the kids down to a little stream by the centre to catch a few new residents for his impressive fish tank, which makes a beautiful entry to the conservation centre. The kids absolutely loved it and were very enthusiastic about helping Dr. Wong repatriate the days catch in their new home at BSBCC.

Close up study of the catch — A close up study of the catch

THE SUN BEAR’S NEIGHBOURS

The centre is buzzing with life – here’s Casper looking at stingless bees with Dr Wong

The kids also got a close up look at stingless bees that nest in the trees around the centre. A good sign we decided, as we know that Sun Bears love honey. We also spotted many birds, insects, geckos and lizards so there was a lot of stuff to look up in our animal books and identify as we relaxed and cooled down with an ice cream after out tour of the forest enclosures.

Identifying a swimming lizard from the stream

BSBCC is located next to Sepilok Orangutan Centre (more about that later), near Sandakan, on the East coast of Sabah, Borneo. Our visit there was part of a fantastic school holiday road trip in Sabah with our good friends, which also took us to Sepilok, Labuk Bay, Poring Hot Springs and Deramacot Forest Reserve.

Thank you Dr. Wong for once again inspiring a next generation of conservationist and showing them your amazing part of our wonderful natural world, one that we all have a big responsibility and interest in protecting.

And as always a big thank you to @simon.enderby for the photos.