Kelantan Perhilitan captures sun bear

JELI - The Kelantan Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) successfully captures one of the two sun bears in Kampung Batu Melintang on Sunday.

The bear had gotten into a trap that had been set up in response to a complaint made a month prior by a member of the community.

Kelantan Perhilitan director Mohamad Hafid Rohani said the Jeli District Perhilitan Office received a complaint about two sun bears that were wandering around the village and the residents’ gardens.

He said that the presence of the bears caused fear in the residents to go out to work.

"On the same day, Perhilitan staff conducted an investigation at the location of the complaint and installed a trap at the location.

"Fruit bait is used to attract the attention of the wildlife," he said in a press release here on Monday.

He said the task of monitoring the traps and the area around the village was also done on a schedule.

He said the wildlife was believed to have come from Gunung Basor Permanent Forest Reserve (HSK) located near the village to look for food.

"The captured sun bear or its scientific name Helarctos Malayanus will be examined by veterinary officers of this department before being transferred to its original habitat away from human settlements.

"We will continue to install traps and monitoring the village and the surrounding area because there is still another bear roaming in the area," he said.

Hafid said advisory services and mitigation measures were given to the residents to clear the areas around their villages and gardens to avoid the presence of wild animals.

"Residents are urged to bring people to the garden whenever possible, to install lights around the house and to avoid going to the garden at night.

"People need to be vigilant and report any sightings of wildlife to the Wildlife Department by calling 1-800-88-5151 or submitting an online complaint through the website www.wildlife.gov.my," he said.