Posts Tagged ‘Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre’

Feb
21

Borneo’s Sun Bear Champion

Posted by in Borneo,community-based conservation,Conservation,Field Research

International Save the Bears Day is February 21st so we are highlighting the Borneo Sun Bear. First – to view a super cute Sun Bear video:

What in the world is a Sun Bear Champion? I would actually call him one of the most dedicated and inspiring conservationists on the planet, but I digress..

Conservation success is about individuals and their committment to a species or project. In Borneo, a person who exemplifies this success is Siew Te Wong, a true champion for the Sun Bear.  His interest in Sun Bears began  in 1994 when he first started planning a study on the species in Malaysia.

Siew Te Wong is a Malaysian wildlife biologist and sun bear expert. For the last 13 years, Wong has been studying and working on the ecological conservation of the sun bear. He is one of the few Malaysian wildlife biologists trained in a western country. He did both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science at the University of Montana in Missoula, and is continuing for his doctorate degree there. His pioneering studies of sun bear ecology in the Borneo rainforest revealed the elusive life history of the sun bear in the dense jungle.

13+ years and a great deal of never-ending work, public relations, research and fundraising later, his dream of the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Center was realized with its opening on March of 2010.

To read more about Siew Te Wong and Borneo’s Sun Bears:

http://wongsiewte.blogspot.com/ or http://wongsiewte.blogspot.com/

Borneo Sun Bear Photo Danau Girang Field Centre

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Jul
25

Pangolin: Endangered by the Wildlife Trade

Posted by in Endangered Species

The Pangolin, also called “Scaly Anteaters” are covered in tough, ovelapping scales – consider them the armadillo of the rainforest. They are a burrowing mammal which have a long, sticky tongue for eating ants and termites (much like South America’s Giant Anteater). Their body shape allows them to roll into a tight defensive  ball when threatened.

photo of mom and baby courtesy Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Center, Vietnam

There are eight known species of Pangolins across Asia and Africa (south of the Sahara region). Hunting for the illegal wildlife trade has quickly turned the Pangolin into one of the most endangered groups of mammals in the world.

Our friend from the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre has provided a nice video of a Malayan Pangolin the wild which can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgr8hguxO_A&feature=autofb

Southeast Asia’s Pangolin populations have been decimated by the  illegal wildlife trade for their meat, skin and scales which are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Earlier this year, nearly 30,000 pounds of pangolin meat and parts were seized. At only 30-40lbs per individual, this was equal to nearly 1,000 individual animals in one confiscation alone.

Then on June 6th, Chinese customs agents seized TEN TONS (over 2,000 individuals plus 90 cases of scales) of pangolins being smuggled across on a fishing vessel. Follow the story here as reported on Time.com.

To learn more about Pangolins, go to SavePangolin.org

photo courtesy Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Center, Vietnam

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