Indonesia: Man hunted for killing sun bear

Jakarta Post 3 Sep 16;

The authorities are hunting a resident of Sambas, West Kalimantan, following a recent post on Facebook showing a picture of a sun bear, an endangered species, with its throat cut.

The photo had a caption that read, “Who will buy this animal?”

Previously, on Aug. 12, the same Facebook account also hosted a picture of a man carrying the dead body of a sun bear with a caption that read, “It is fortunate to have caught a sun bear in the early morning”.

West Kalimantan’s Natural Resources Conservation Agency head Sustyo Iriono said the picture was allegedly taken in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia. However, the man who posted the picture is reportedly from Sei Nilam village, Jawai district, in Sambas regency.

The agency investigating the case found the Facebook account reportedly belonged to a man identified as Joko, using the pseudonym Rosi Kuale.

“The team has visited Joko’s parents’ house in Sambas. His parents had no idea about the Facebook posts,” Sustyo said, adding he had reported the finding to the Environment and Forestry Ministry.