The sun bear known as ‘Baby bear’ to many volunteers has recently moved house out of the quarantine area and into the larger sun bear enclosure housing the other ‘quarantine bears’. Though she is still significantly smaller than these other adults, it was deemed time to begin the familiarisation process. She currently has one of the night dens to herself, and we are giving her and the other bears time to get used to each other through the safety of the cage. She was pretty scared for the first couple of days, and her defensive shouting at the other bears provoked some aggressive responses, but she soon calmed down and the others now seem at peace with their new neighbour. It may still be some time before she is let out with the others though.



Though she is still spending the majority of her time in a cage, every now and then we are keeping the four adults in and letting her enjoy the outdoor enclosure by herself. Letting her out for the first time was incredibly exciting, and she seemed incredibly pleased by the experience.



The picture below shows her following and enjoying a honey trail leading out of the night den. Baby bear has always showed great natural behaviour, even though she has been confined to a small, unnatural area. She did not disappoint in the outdoor space, foraging for most of the day, digging vigorously at the ground and climbing trees with ease.



Her next stage is obviously full integration with the existing group, and until then she will continue to enjoy days exploring the outdoor space. We also have a video of her first outdoor excursion, which will be posted soon.

Labels: great orangutan project, matang wildlife centre, orangutan volunteer, sun bear