LADY, OUR FAVOURITE SUN BEAR

Even though our program mainly focuses on orangutan conservation, the BOS Foundation also supports other victims of deforestation, the sun bears. BOS Foundation has provided refuge for sun bears for quite some time at the Samboja Lestari Sun Bear Sanctuary in East Kalimantan and in a temporary care enclosure in Nyaru Menteng, Central Kalimantan. Until today, the program is running under some constraints in terms of limited funding and human resources specialized in sun bear care.

There are currently 47 sun bears under BOS Foundation’s care at Samboja Lestari. One that is close to our hearts is Lady, a female sun bear rescued by the East Kalimantan Conservation and Natural Resources Authority (BKSDA) and placed in Samboja Lestari on November 11, 2010. Lady—only 2 months old back then—arrived in a very poor condition: underweight, small, weak and unable to walk.

Today, Lady lives in our Samboja Lestari Sun Bear Sanctuary and is an intelligent bear with extraordinary climbing and foraging skills. She is now 5 years old, is very healthy and loves to play with her close friend, Chris.
 

During feeding times, Lady, Chris and other bears forage around the socialisation enclosure sniffing for food strategically placed by technicians in or on various enrichment tools. One of Lady’s favored picks is an orange ball filled with food. She is often ‘caught’ in many adorable acts trying to retrieve the food from inside the ball. It is no wonder that she is known as one of darlings of the sanctuary, much loved by our staff as well as visitors.