http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3ThXt2s70I
Showing posts with label Cambodian Sun bear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cambodian Sun bear. Show all posts
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Sun bears [from Cambodia] arrive at Edinburgh Zoo
The brothers are being housed in a refurbished enclosure at the zooWednesday, 7 July 2010
BBC News
Two Malaysian sun bears are the latest arrivals to go on display at Edinburgh Zoo, having flown 6,000 miles from Cambodia.
The brothers, named Rotana and Somnang, are thought to be aged about seven.
The pair were rescued in 2004 by Free the Bears Fund from a private owner who kept them in a tiny cage and will stay in the city as part of a long-term breeding loan.
They get their name from the white or yellowish crescent on their chest.
The crescent is said to look like a rising or setting sun.
They are also the smallest of the world's eight bear species, standing at just 1.2m.
Edinburgh Zoo animal collection manager, Darren McGarry, said: "Sun bears are very interesting bears and are easily recognisable not only because of their size but their amazingly long tongue used for extracting honey from tree trunks."
The brothers are being housed in a refurbished enclosure which cost £150,000 and has facilities such as an indoor pool, a waterfall, a honey drip and a fruit shaker tree.
The bears will remain the property of the Royal Government of Cambodia.
Under the terms of the breeding loan agreement the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has committed to provide annual support to conserve wild bears in Cambodia.
Iain Valentine from the RZSS said: "Our policy at Edinburgh Zoo is to ensure that we focus our collections on species that are really struggling so that we can activity contribute to managing the captive collections that could, in the future, be the only real safeguard for wild populations."
The brothers, named Rotana and Somnang, are thought to be aged about seven.
The pair were rescued in 2004 by Free the Bears Fund from a private owner who kept them in a tiny cage and will stay in the city as part of a long-term breeding loan.
They get their name from the white or yellowish crescent on their chest.
The crescent is said to look like a rising or setting sun.
"Our policy at Edinburgh Zoo is to ensure that we focus our collections on species that are really struggling " - Iain Valentine, RZSSThe pair are the only bears of their kind in Scotland and are among the rarest in the world.
They are also the smallest of the world's eight bear species, standing at just 1.2m.
Edinburgh Zoo animal collection manager, Darren McGarry, said: "Sun bears are very interesting bears and are easily recognisable not only because of their size but their amazingly long tongue used for extracting honey from tree trunks."
The brothers are being housed in a refurbished enclosure which cost £150,000 and has facilities such as an indoor pool, a waterfall, a honey drip and a fruit shaker tree.
The bears will remain the property of the Royal Government of Cambodia.
Under the terms of the breeding loan agreement the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has committed to provide annual support to conserve wild bears in Cambodia.
Iain Valentine from the RZSS said: "Our policy at Edinburgh Zoo is to ensure that we focus our collections on species that are really struggling so that we can activity contribute to managing the captive collections that could, in the future, be the only real safeguard for wild populations."
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Bear cub debut puts spotlight on survival
June 30, 2008
Ryan Emery
The Australian
HER parents may have suffered greatly in their lives, but Australia's first-born sun bear has started her life in a far more peaceful way.
On the weekend, three-month-old Maly was unveiled to the public at Perth Zoo.
Keeping a watchful eye on her was first-time mother Bopha, who was rescued from poachers in Cambodia some years ago.
Often cradled in her mother's arms, Maly was experiencing the world outside her den for the first time. She was born weighing just 406g on March 26 to Bopha and father Jamran.
Jamran and Bopha were part of Asia's illegal culinary and medicinal trade, which has pushed the sun bear, also known as the honey bear, towards the edge of extinction. The sun bear, the world's smallest bear, is reputed to have great healing powers and is considered a delicacy in some parts of Asia.
A bowl of bear-paw soup in Cambodia can reportedly cost up to $1290, and dried bear gall can sell for 18 times the price of gold. The sun bears, named after the U-shaped golden patch of fur on their chests, are milked for their gall bladder bile while they are still alive.
West Australian Environment Minister David Templeman said the birth of Maly, the Cambodian word for blossom, was an important achievement.
"Maly is particularly special because of the remarkable survival story of her parents, six-year-old Bopha and eight-year-old Jamran, who were rescued from poachers," he said.
"Bopha and Jamran were taken illegally from the wild when they were cubs, and were in a terrible condition when they arrived at the Free The Bears Fund sanctuary near Phnom Penh in Cambodia."
The sanctuary nursed the bears back to health before they were sent to Perth Zoo.
Ryan Emery
The Australian
HER parents may have suffered greatly in their lives, but Australia's first-born sun bear has started her life in a far more peaceful way.
On the weekend, three-month-old Maly was unveiled to the public at Perth Zoo.
Keeping a watchful eye on her was first-time mother Bopha, who was rescued from poachers in Cambodia some years ago.
Often cradled in her mother's arms, Maly was experiencing the world outside her den for the first time. She was born weighing just 406g on March 26 to Bopha and father Jamran.
Jamran and Bopha were part of Asia's illegal culinary and medicinal trade, which has pushed the sun bear, also known as the honey bear, towards the edge of extinction. The sun bear, the world's smallest bear, is reputed to have great healing powers and is considered a delicacy in some parts of Asia.
A bowl of bear-paw soup in Cambodia can reportedly cost up to $1290, and dried bear gall can sell for 18 times the price of gold. The sun bears, named after the U-shaped golden patch of fur on their chests, are milked for their gall bladder bile while they are still alive.
West Australian Environment Minister David Templeman said the birth of Maly, the Cambodian word for blossom, was an important achievement.
"Maly is particularly special because of the remarkable survival story of her parents, six-year-old Bopha and eight-year-old Jamran, who were rescued from poachers," he said.
"Bopha and Jamran were taken illegally from the wild when they were cubs, and were in a terrible condition when they arrived at the Free The Bears Fund sanctuary near Phnom Penh in Cambodia."
The sanctuary nursed the bears back to health before they were sent to Perth Zoo.
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