In Sabah I am working on the design of a Sun Bear Conservation Centre, but is it really a conservation centre? In the course of my research for this project, a prominent conservationist suggested to me that its function was likely to focus on animal welfare. This got me wondering. Where is the boundary between wildlife conservation and animal welfare? As man continues to encroach on natural habitats, more endangered species end up in our care. The dilemma we face is the balance between providing a good home for displaced...

This is an animal almost mystical by reputation, a huge, jungle dwelling herbivore which is so reclusive that even the scientists who study them must rely on camera traps, footprints and dung for their data. Their horns are alleged to be an aphrodisiac making them a notorious target for poachers, but this is not the only threat to their existence. Habitat loss is the usual scapegoat for declining populations of wildlife but in the case of the Sumatran Rhinoceros there may also be other factors at work. I am told that rhinos...