Bogor bear<\/p>\n
I was pleased to see the photo of the captive sun bear at Jl.
\nPajajaran No. 6, Bogor, in The Jakarta Post. I have regularly
\nobserved this particular bear since I first noticed it close to
\nour home in Bogor last year. The animal's cage is located near a
\nbusy road, clearly unsuitable conditions for a captive animal.
\nThis is not just my personal opinion, but is shared by other
\nresidents as I have often heard them saying in my homeward-bound
\nangkot. There is an urgent need to expose such cases, hence my
\ncontentment when I saw your photo.<\/p>\n
Apparently, the owner has a permit for keeping this bear. But
\nthe contents of SK Dir Jen PHPA 301\/1991 that deals with the
\nlegalities of this permit, emphasizes the need for proper methods
\nof captivity.<\/p>\n
In November 1996, I wrote a letter to the head of the Agency
\nfor the Conservation of Natural Resources in Bandung and included
\na copy to the Director of Protected Areas and Conservation of
\nFlora and Fauna of the Directorate General of Nature
\nConservation. In the letter, I said the Bogor bear was probably
\nnot kept under appropriate conditions, and I asked them whether
\nthey could investigate the case. Six months later I didn't
\nreceive an answer, and the bear's conditions were still the same.<\/p>\n
Since 1995, I have investigated many similar cases of sun
\nbears in captivity, and I have grown to realize that these are
\nnot just cases of poor law enforcement. All the zoos in Indonesia
\nare filled beyond capacity with sun bears. Medan Zoo, for
\ninstance, presently keeps 17 bears. This zoo is offered on
\naverage one bear each month, but the zoo managers can no longer
\naccept them. Rumors say that it is now possible to eat bear paws
\nand bear meat in one of Medan's top restaurants. Bear
\ngallbladders are for sale in Medan, but also in many other areas
\nin Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Before efficient law enforcement becomes possible, bear
\nholding facilities and the essential know-how of releasing bears
\ninto the wild needs to be established. The Wanariset orangutan
\nre-introduction project, for whom I work, is now taking the first
\nsteps toward facilitating bear releases. The project is studying
\nre-introduced sun bears equipped with radio collars, and thus we
\nlearn about basic ecology and survival rates.<\/p>\n
Hopefully, the Bogor bear will soon be moved to a better
\nlocation, or possibly, via a release program, back into the
\nforest.<\/p>\n
ERIK MEIJAARD<\/p>\n
Bogor, West Java<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bogor-bear-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }