MARANG, Feb 2 — A retired teacher can now breathe a sigh of relief when the wild sun bear which has been digging into and destroying his honey bee log hives for almost three weeks was finally captured after it went into the trap set by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) early today.
Ali Yusof, 61, from Kampung Pengkalan Berangan here, said he suffered almost RM10,000 worth of honey after 16 log hives he built in his back yard were destroyed by the sun bear, which is also known as honey bear for its love of honey.
“I bought the log hives at a price of between RM500 and RM800 each, but I can’t even sell the honey as it was all savoured by the bear.
“Apart from the log hives, the bear had also destroyed most of the villagers’ coconut trees. It is good that after I lodged a report on Jan 28, the Perhilitan team quickly set up the trap and managed to capture the animal,” he told reporters when met here today.
Meanwhile, Terengganu Perhilitan director Dr Abdul Malek Mohd Yusof said the male sun bear weighing about 70kg was believed to have come from the nearby forest.
“Apart from the one in Kampung Pengkalan Berangan, we have also captured another male sun bear weighing 80kg in Kampung Batu Tiong, Dungun, at 10.30 pm yesterday.
“The bear went into the trap set up by our team last Sunday. These two sun bears were the first two captured by Terengganu Perhilitan this year,” he told Bernama when contacted.
Abdul Malek also advised all villagers not to take matters into their own hands if they stumbled upon any wild species, but to report it immediately to Perhilitan for further action.
“The two sun bears will be released in a suitable habitat in the Terengganu National Park soon,” he added.
Source: BERNAMA