If you have travelled to see the orangutans at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre (SORC) you MUST ringfence 30min to an hour at least to visit The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) that is situated next door. The centre was established in 2008 to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned and confiscated captive bears that have been illegally kept as pets, their habitat destroyed by deforestation. It was opened to the public in 2014.
Red Shield Bug nymph (Pycanum rubeus)
There is an elevated viewing platform that gives good views of a couple of enclosures. We met a member of staff there who answered our questions and invited us to use a high powered monocular to peek at the twitching whiskers of some bears slumbering a little way further away.
The enclosures have taken some doing. They are built deep to withstand the bears obsession for excavating - the bear's efforts in digging a cavernous den in one enclosure has felled trees. The fences have to be built high as the bears are wizard climbers.
Striped Tree Skink (Apterygodon vittatum)
Asian Fairy Bluebird (Irena puella)
The work at BSBCC is on going and can be supported by giving a donation.
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