Unfortunately, the sun bear born at Matang at the beginning of February this year did not make it. It reached around 4 weeks old, at which point the behaviour of the mother changed quite dramatically. For the previous weeks, she had remained in the outdoor enclosure, occasionally coming to the night den area for food but always returning quickly to the den she had created in the enclosure. During the fourth week, her behaviour reverted back to normal – she was spending the nights back in the night den (the door was left open for her) and the day times foraging in the enclosure for food. She showed little interest in the den she had constructed. On the third day of this behaviour, staff and volunteers thoroughly searched the outdoor enclosure for any sign of the cub and could find none.

Though disappointing, it is still hugely encouraging that these bears are displaying successful reproductive behaviour. This female has now had 2 attempts at motherhood, and with just these 2 she already showed a massive improvement in natural behaviour displayed. On the first occasion she didn’t seem to notice that she had given birth, but on the second attempt she built a fantastic den and completely isolated herself from the other bears, which is much more reminiscent of a bear’s natural behaviour.

Bears do seems to require practise to get motherhood right in captivity, and this female certainly seems to be progressing in the right directing. Hopefully her future attempts will see increasing success until there is a healthy, surviving cub here at Matang.

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

On Sunday 6th February, a sun bear cub was born at Matang Wildlife Centre. On being released to the outdoor enclosure that morning, mother Gaby made a hasty run for the roots of the large, white tree in the hill enclosure and started digging out a den area immediately. She then gave birth sometime during that day. Keeper Eddie was alerted to extraordinary happenings when he tried to bring this set of bears in that afternoon, noting one was missing. On exploring the outdoor area, he finally located her deep in the roots of the tree, preciously guarding a small, naked, squeaking figure.



This is the second time this bear has given birth that we know of, though her first attempt two years ago was still born. We suspect Gummy to be the proud father, as Gaby and Gummy frequently share a night den each evening. Though Gummy is incredibly old and very frail-looking, he is clearly still full of life!



The pictures displayed here were taken by keeper Eddie Inddris, who was incredibly daring to say the least to approach mother sun bear guarding her cub in her den. The pictures of the cub on its own were taken when Gaby returned to the night den to collect food. She is currently being given the whole outdoor enclosure to herself to enable the cub to have optimal survival chances. We also do not want Gaby to be unnecessarily stressed by the presence of other bears, particularly given the aggressive nature of both the males, Gummy and Wong, in this enclosure.



From the photo above you can see that it is currently about the size of a banana. In a few more weeks this tiny creature will be more recognisable as a bear cub, and we look forward to sharing more images with you all and it grows and develops.

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

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