Malaysia: Sun bear who entered house captured

Olivia Miwil New Straits Times 21 Sep 18;

KINABATANGAN: A male sun bear who had entered a house at Kampung Abai here briefly on Tuesday has been captured by the Sabah Wildlife Department.

Department spokesman Siti Nur’Ain Ampuan Acheh said they received the report on the same day and despatched personnel from the Sabah Wildlife and Bornean Sunbear Conservation Centre in Sandakan to assess the situation.

The team, led by Dr Nabila Sarkawi, installed a trap near the house yesterday and managed to lure the bear, which weighed about 40 kilogrammes, into it within three hours.

“A physical examination on it found that it was injured at the front of its left foot.

“The injury is believed to be self inflicted based on the condition of the cut,” she said in a statement.

It is also learnt that there was no report of the sun bear damaging property.

The bear was brought to the conservation centre for further treatment and will be released back to the wild at Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary.

Centre founder and chief executive officer Dr Wong Siew Te said the bear probably went into the house to search for food.

Meanwhile, at Kampung Entilibon in Tongod, efforts to capture another sun bear who attacked a farmer last month is still ongoing.