We've reached halfway in the contract to build Phase I of the new Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre and I'm pleased to report good progress. I'll let the photos tell the story. Related posts %RELATEDPOSTS%

Construction of the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) has started. On 29th June the site was formally handed over to the contractor by representatives of the landowners, Sabah Wildlife Department and Sabah Forestry Departement. Our contractor Mee San of Lahad Datu now has 6 months to complete the first phase building valued at MYR 600,000. On completion we will have a new bear house with night time bear dens for 20 animals. Simultaneously we are implementing our Bear Action Teams (BATs) program that forms partnerships...

Our proposal for a Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Borneo has moved closer to reality thanks to an extravagant Fundraising Dinner held in Kota Kinabalu in November. The event which was organised by our partner LEAP succeeded in raising over half a million ringgit. This money was then matched one-to-one by the State Government to give us a total which we hope will be enough to build Phase One. The first priority is to enclose 1 hectare of the Sepilok Forest Reserve with electric fences. This will allow a controlled release...

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...