Reminiscence of BSBCC.. pt 2

7th March, 2012

My reaction after pulling a muscle..

Then came a day when we were working as usual and I had been given the task of collecting browse (leaves) for the use of enrichment for the bear cubs. I approached a small macaranga tree only to find that the leaves and branches were far out of my reach. I then decided I should pull myself up and cut down a few lower branches. and that I did manage to do but not before pulling a muscles in my arm which was not the most enjoyable experience in the world. my arm was HURTIN.. This was my introduction to the newest volunteers Hiu and Estee. I went to the center office clutching my arm in hopes of dampening the pain and having a quick rest. There, I came up two Chinese/Malaysian women, whom i had no idea were starting their first day of volunteering, cleaning out every drawer and arranging objects and items about the office. Estee, who I found out was a Nurse working and living in England, quick convinced me to ice down my arm, gave me panadol painkiller and wrapped my arm in a sling (my first time ever!). Hiu, (from kuala lumpur) who is one of the friendliest people I have ever met, (besides Roshan) then offered me white chocolate almond treats peppered with dark chocolate powder to easy my suffering! who could ask for more? I have the biggest respect for these two women and hold them in high esteem. thanks girls!

Reminiscence of BSBCC.. pt 1

March 2nd 2012,

I had just returned to the BSBCC from a week off to attend a my cousins engagement party in Kota Belud. By chance, Wong had left again just as i arrived, so as it was just, Waipak , David and Daniel the main keepers, and Pia the sweetest finnish girl (with a heart of heavy METAL!) were the sole workers for the moment. It felt really good to be back, like returning to a family after a long leave of absence. It was back to work as usual: The husbandry of cleaning cages, feedin, and providing enrichment. I absolutly loved it! Who would've thought that anyone could miss sweeping bear cells so much? The cooling spay of the power washer as it blasted tiny particulates of bear feces all around me  and into my face... but miss it, I did. For me, the care of such intriguing animals was well worth the effort. Just the be in close proximity to the sunbears and observe thier individual personalities and behaviors was reward enough. At that time I made some new friends with whom were dubbed "the in-betweeners" as they were the fill-ins between Orang utan volunteer rotations (all of them being past volunteers themselves). In the time that I was away, Bermuda, one of the big males had taken his first steps into the outdoor enclosure for the first time in nearly ten years! It was quite sight to see him finally walking around like he owned the place after previously seeing him only timidly poke his head out of his cell to inspect the new open area. I also managed to meet Tomoyuki of Kyoto University, A primatologist whom worked with the "smartest chimpanzee in the world" Ai. His malay was much better than mine and we conversed a bit and quickly became friendly. it was quite refreshing to finally be around like minded people who care about wildlife as much as I do. Shortly, after I arrived though, Pia had to take here leave and was off to Gunung Mulu national park in Sarawak for some hiking to see the famous Pinnacles. Daniel and I made sure to give her a nice send of party with just the 3 of us as no one else there really drank at all. It was sad to see her go, but she was off to better, more exciting things! Roshan was back a couple days later and we were all glad to have his company again.

The search continues..

I have been on the trail of the slow loris and tariser now for a very long time. neither have I come upon..Last night's walk through sepilok did jhowever unveil the rare and elusive colugo, or flying lemur which really isnt a lemur and glides from tree to tree using the thin membrane bewteen its limbs and tail. Then, a second one was spotted! 2 colugos!! how lucky. but still no loris or tarsier.. the search will have to resume on another day.. Giant flying squirrels were also spotted.

Back to Sepilok..

Gahh..didn't finish all my entries for the remainder of my time at the bsbcc or the clouded leopard program at danum.. I will definatley get to that when i have the chance. now im settling in for the night after riding the bus all day to sepilok with my buddy yoni whom i will show around sepilok tommorow.. after that will be heading to Kuala Lumpur for my trip to Taman Negara! then to Tawau to visit my uncle James and following that flying to Manila for some party time with  a cousin from Canada...looking like a fully booked month. Also waiting on the plans to visit Long Pasia with my uncle Johnny but nothing confirmed yet..

The "Bear" Necessities..

Feb 14th, 2012

After having Been at the BSBCC for Nearly one month, I had pretty much gotten the daily routine down. A typical day went somthing like this:

6:30am - wake up, daily hygene, somtimes cook an egg and indo mee (soupless noodles)

7:00am - 7:30 Wait for Wong to pick us (the volunteers) up from the staff house. leave for work

8:00am  - reach sepliok bsbcc. feed bears morning meal. go to cafeteria for breakfast

9:00am - 12:00pm start cleaning bear cells, sweeping the feces up in a pan and disposing them into a wheelbarrow. dump feces into the forest. power wash the cells then squeegee dry. both new and old bear house. Enrich cells with ginger leaves and rotten logs. Feed bears Fruit and Veg.

12:00 - 1:30/2:00 lunch break! majority of time spent at the cafe chatting with the Vet Dr. Nigel Hicks and his wife Sara. Also liason officer Amelia swan! (she is sooooo fine..)

1:30/2:00pm- 3:00 Feed bears 2nd time with fruit. continue to enrich bear cells or finish cleaning if not finished. any other odd task.

3:00pm - 4:00 get dinner meal ready for the bears. boil rice for bears next morning meal.

4:00pm - 5:00 Finishing touch for the day, clean up, generally. goof off somtimes ^_^;;  Then home time! back to the staffhouse.

Thats the basic routine that keeps us busy. somtimes theres variations depending on the daily circumstances.

your best friend

get to know him

smells kinda fruity!

Sweeping Crap

the crap sweep

A pro at work..

The amateur approaches

Power washin!

A visitor to the fruit heap

A bears gotta eat

Lunchtime with the Doc and Co.

Birthday Hike

Feb 1st 2012

During the next 2 weeks i slowly got used to the heat and humidity and got to know some of the other volunteers working with the Orangutans. This day, being my birthday I decided to take the weekend off and explore Sandakan a bit. Here i met up with the lovely Renee, one of the travellers volunteers. we spend the day walking around sandakan talking and visiting shops.

The Lovely Renee

  That night of my birthday she had some school interview to conduct via skype so i was left alone to ponder my next move. Needless to say, the night ended without a bang and i retired to my dorm room which was left empty save for me, the sole occupant. a surprise present that i gladly welcomed!

Canopy walkway

The next day i caught a ride back to Sepilok and spend the day at the Rainforest discovery Center fondly known as the RDC to the locals. I a few hours walking around the park and canopy walkways was a good way to pass the day.

view of the canopy from viewing platform

Walking around the park

The RDC Canopy

 Things i spotted that day were Hornbills, woodpeckers, bulbuls, small colourful skinks and Squirrels.

Jungle Skink

Then all of a sudden atop the canopy walkway i was swarmed by red leaf langurs! A whole family had approached and were now feeding on the brose of the nearby trees. i spent my time trying to get some decent photos using my crappy pentax w90 (a sturdy and tough camera but the image quality sufferes greatly)

Red Leaf Langur

I was then Picked up by Waipak and the other volunteers who had grown by one member, Pia of finland whom i got to become good friends with. That day was her very first day at the BSBCC. we all retired home and continued as usual the next following days.

Fyz Arrives at the BSBCC..

Jan 16th, 2012

I Arrived in Sandakan airport and waited to be picked up by Waipak Ng, project manager at the Bornean Sunbear Conservation Center. Apparently he was running a bit late as i remember because i ended up waiting an hour or two longer than intended.. In any case he arrived and greeted me with a friendly smile. We then drove to the BSBCC lodge house aptly called Bjorn Hala (bear haven). Since i arrived quite early in the day, i was put to work straight away, but not before given the full introduction or safety by WaiPak.

WaiPak and Natalie

 The Founder Wong siew te had left the same morning i arrived, for Taiwan. He would spend the next three weeks there celebrating Chinese new year with his family. And so i did not get the chance to meet him right away.. I was introduced to the current crew who consisted then of 2 other volunteers and 2 keepers. The volunteers were Joanne and Roshan. the two keepers are Daniel and David. All whom ive gotten to know and call friends.

Back- Me and Roshan.    Front - David and Daniel

During the great flood of January 2012

Entrance to the new bear house

Outdoor enclosures are all electrified

Joanne chillin in the kitchen/rest area

  The first few days theyre we're a bit daunting and there were many Sunbears already there. 23 at the time. 18 in the new bear house and the rest at the old bear house. Each had a name that i Hadnt gotten to know..yet! As of now I can fondly recall each of their names and demeanors. the first row of cells to the right were of mostly female bears with the exception of one male sub-juvenile(julaini) theyre names are as goes from left end to right end.

Females on the right, Males on the left.

Maumatai

WanWan and Maumatai: elderly females, then the subJuviniles: Natalie, Rungus, Julaini and Ah lun. following that are the lovely lady Bears in thier prime Cerah, Jelita and Lewa. the pen next to that is a mixed bag and have the bigger bears of the female groups: Suzie(the biggest) Kuamut(2nd) Keningau, Tokob and the grumpy old lady Manis.

Natalie

Ahlun

 To the left hand side of the bear house are the Males. first off is Big Om. then Linggam who loves to grab. Following that is the nearly blind Gutuk and then lastly, the Aggressor, Bermuda. In the old bears house were kept the Cubs Mary, and Fulong. the Adults there were the Infamous Kudat and Panda who were rescued from a mini zoo whom wrongly labeled them as "Pandas". and of course the oldest male in the center with by far the longest claws, the highly aggressive Amako. Since then 2 new cubs have been surrendered to the center. Debbie and KoKo.

Intentions..

It was my intent to start this blog to document my progress in Malaysian Borneo but due to lack of internet and sometime lack of motivation, I have failed miserably to even submit one post as of yet.. So to make up for it. Im going to have to post my travels with an attached date to signify when the trip took place.. this may take some time but i promise you there are juicy contents waiting..

~Fyz