18 Septembre 2023 Update

Since March 2023, 5 new bears have arrived at the sun bear sanctuary of Samboja Lestari in East Kalimantan, run by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF). Brutus, an adult male, arrived in July. He used to be kept in a park of a town called Tarakan, where Sun Bear Outreach had built a large cage for him in 2017, for lack of being able to do more. Later he was moved to different places where he must have suffered a lot, because by the time he arrived at Samboja Lestari, the poor animal was just skin and bones, and looking miserable.

Lou and Kerin are 2 adult females who arrived in the center in April. They too had been kept in Tarakan, under the names of Rina and Fitri. I had come across them by chance in 2017 and had done what I could to improve their welfare in Tarakan. Like Brutus, it seems that Loo and Kerin have spent all their lives in cages, but now that they are at Samboja Lestari, they will soon be able to enjoy a bit of forest.

 

The 2 cubs who arrived at Samboja Lestari are Bakar and Choki. Both are males, both are about the same age, probably born in February or March 2023 and both have been hand raised. They are orphans but have bonded with Pablo, a volunteer who cares for them and spends his days in the forest with them. The cubs are healthy and best buddies, playing and enjoying the forest most of the day.

Unfortunately, by the time the cubs are 1 year old, it will become increasingly difficult to walk them in the forest and they will need to be moved to a forest enclosure. But the center is now in over capacity and all the forest enclosures are occupied. The plan is to split an old enclosure called Middle Yard in 2 in order to accommodate 2 older bears who are now in Enclosure B, thus allowing the cubs to move to B. The cost of splitting Middle Yard and building 2 new dens is estimated at 8500 USD.

Funds are difficult to get these days, so your donation, however small, will be very much appreciated. Thank you.