HUMAN-IMPOSEDTHREATS TO SUN BEARS IN

ERIKMEIJAARD, Ecosense Consultants,c/o Inchdryne,Nethybridge, Inverness-shire, Scotland PH253EF

Abstract:The sun bear(Helarctos malayanus) is the least studiedbear species, andlittle informationexists on threatsto its survival.Based on studiesof otherbear species, I hypothesizedthat sun bearson the island of Borneo are threatenedby destructionof habitatand hunting. The resultsof this 3-year surveyconfirmed this hypothesis.More specificallyit identified4 factorsthat influence sun bear survival in Borneo:hunting, trade in live bearsand bear parts,habitat destruction, and establishment of plantations.Survey data and background information suggest that hunting pressure on Borean sun bears is high. Tradein bearparts is now uncommonin ,but it was higherin the 1980s. In Sabahand Sarawak,however, trade in beargall bladders is still common.My estimatesindicate that the sun bearlost 30-60 %of its totalhabitat in Borneobetween 1960 and 1990, mainlythrough logging and landconversion. Apart from the possible deleteriouseffects of logging andconversion on the carryingcapacity of the habitat,these activitiesare accom- panied by increasinghuman presence and huntingpressure. There is a lack of ecological data on sun bears, so the impactof these factorscannot be assessed.However, this studyprovides a clearerfocus for sun bearconservation, including recommendations on researchand policy matters.

Ursus 11:185-192

Key words: Borneo, conservation,gall bladders,Helarctos malayanus, hunting, Malayan sun bear,threats

The sun bear,which occurs in forests of lowland tropi- involving 208 field days in Kalimantan.In addition I cal southeast Asia, is the least studied of all ursids spent 69 days in towns and villages for official visits and (Servheen 1989, MeijaardIn Press). Very little ecologi- interviews. During that period I travelled almost 35,000 cal fieldwork has been conductedto investigate sun bear kilometres by various means of transportation,includ- biology, and therehave been no thoroughsurveys of dis- ing transectson foot. The surveys covered all majorriver tributionor populationdensities. Most of what is known systems of West, Central,and East Kalimantan,all ma- about this bear species is based on researchin zoos and jor towns in Kalimantan,and mountainousareas in Cen- on storiesby colonial huntersof southand southeastAsia. tral and East Kalimantan.I also visited 7 majorcities in The lack of basic informationon the species' ecology, Sabah and Sarawak, during 3 visits, which totalled 1 and on factors that threatensurvival, makes it difficult month. to assess whether the species requiresprotection. What The sun bear part of the survey consisted mostly of we do know, however, is that bears worldwide are under non-systematic interviews which always started as an pressure (Servheen 1989), and my initial assumptionin informalconversation. If the informantknew aboutgen- this research is that the sun bear is likewise threatened eral wildlife subjects, the interviews became more spe- in its survival. Hester (1967) listed the following factors cific. As the was the main focus of the survey, as attributingto the reductionin numbersof the sun bear's questions initially addressed that species, after which bigger relatives, American black bears (Ursus informationwas collected about other wildlife, includ- americanus) and grizzly bears (U. arctos): destruction ing sun bears. Questions asked included: "Whatdo you of habitat,hunting by 'primitive' man, huntingby 'civi- know about sun bears?","Are there any bear gall blad- lized' man, naturallylow densities, humans considering ders for sale?", and "Are there any captive sun bears in bears to be pets, and a low reproductiverate. To ascer- this village?" As much as possible the interviewertried tain whether sun bears in Borneo are affected by similar to verify informationby asking other informants.Ques- factors,I conducteda 3-yearsurvey to determinethe main tions were asked in Indonesian,which is also understood threatsto sun bear survival and the species' present dis- in the Malaysian states. In villages, hunterswere useful tribution. Sun bear distributionhas been described by sources of information,but in general informantswere Meijaard (In Press); this paper specifically addresses chosen randomly.In cities and largervillages, I collected threatsto sun bear survival in Borneo. informationby looking for likely animal tradingplaces, such as Chinese medicine shops, markethalls, and har- bors. I tried to obtain proof for claims by asking to see, METHODS for instance, the remains of a killed bear, such as skins, I conducted this survey as part of a 3-year orang utan skulls, or bear gall bladders,or signs of bear presence in (Pongo pygmaeus) survey in Kalimantan,the Indone- the forest. The anecdotalinformation used in this survey sian part of Borneo (Fig. 1), between 1994 and 1997. provides only subjective data, and information on ab- For the orang utan survey, I conducted 78 field-checks sence of threatsto bear survival was not recorded. 186 Ursus 11:1999 V .

Sabah

East Kalimantan

Central KaIlimantan 100 0 100 200 300 Kilometers II I

Fig. 1. The island of Borneo and the routes that were followed during the 1994-97 surveys. RESULTS On 2 occasions I found sun bear gall bladdersfor sale during the Kalimantan surveys, and I received 11 past Use and Sale of Sun Bear Parts reports of the sale of sun bear gall bladders (Table 1). Prices were said to from 10-US$ blad- During the survey, 17 interviewees admitted to hunt- vary US$ 55/gall der All owners in Kalimantanasserted that ing sun bears. In addition, I found 23 skulls, 205 canine (1996). shop these was low. Use of bear teeth, 53 claws, and 2 skins from sun bears, providing currentdemand for products bladders in Kalimantan seemed to be re- additional evidence of bear hunting (Fig. 2, Table 1). gall mainly Interviewees also indicated that bears are still consumed stricted to Indonesians of Chinese origin and to some Kalimantan. of in several areasin Kalimantan,such as the upperKapuas indigenous tribes of High consumption to occur where or Ko- area in (9 in Fig. 2), the southern bear parts was reported Japanese rean of timber created a swamps of Central Kalimantan (7 in Fig. 2), and the expatriateemployees companies demand. upperMahakam (1 in Fig. 2), upperBahau, upper Kayan, temporary to be a much and WahauRivers of East Kalimantan.Bears are mainly In Sarawakand Sabah, there seemed big- marketfor sun bear bladdersthan in Kalimantan. eaten by indigenous people, including the Iban, Maloh, ger gall In Sarawak and 3 of 10 Dayak Kenyah, Punan, and Ngadju peoples. In one case (Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu, Miri), Chinese medicine showed me Javanese workers in a logging camp also admitted to traditional shops 9, 10, and 2 and 3 others were able eating bear meat. An informant in , West gall bladders,respectively, In the assistants Kalimantan,told me that until 1996 bear paws had been to supply them. the remaining shops, were more and denied the sale of bear exportedfrom Pontianakto Singapore, where they were suspicious gall bladders or were to talk. In Sabah sold for US$ 250/paw (1996). unwilling (Kota Kinabaluand Tawau),it was more difficult to find infor- THREATSTO SUNBEARS * Meijaard 187 Table1. Locationsin Borneowhere bear gall bladderswere sold 1994-97.Location numbers are from Fig. 2. No. Location Province Price (US$)/ Year Source of information bladder 1 Apo Kayan East Kalimantan ? 1996 O'Brien' 2 Balikpapan East Kalimantan ? 1996 local interview 3 Grogot East Kalimantan 30 1996 local interview 4 Malinau East Kalimantan 35 1996 local interview 5 Tarakan East Kalimantan 45 1996 local interview 6 Banjermasin 55 1996 local interview 7 Banjermasin South Kalimantan 31 1996 local interview 8 Ketapang West Kalimantan 10/'slice' 1996 local interview 9 Lanjak West Kalimantan ? 1996 local interview 10 Pontianak West Kalimantan ? 1996 local interview 11 Rimba Adi Jaya Ltd. West Kalimantan. 10 1997 local interview 12 Semitau West Kalimantan 12 1996 local interview 13 Sintang West Kalimantan ? 1995 local interview 14 Kota Kinabalu Sabah 20-640 1997 local interview 15 Tawau Sabah 80-160 1997 local interview 16 Kuching Sarawak 65-175 1997 local interview 17 Sibu Sarawak 40-80 1997 local interview 18 Bintulu Sarawak 160 1997 local interview 19 Miri Sarawak 40-80 1997 local interview a T. OBrien,WCS ,Bogor, Indonesia,personal communication, 1996.

mation about sun bear gall bladders.A shop assistant of 6 bear skulls confiscatedfrom a souvenirand antiques showed me a gall bladderin only 1 of 12 shops visited. shop in Samarindawere decoratedelaborately with beads All other shop assistantsdenied the sale of gall bladders. and skillfully engraved.The shop attendantdid not know This contradicted information from some 20 informal where these skulls originated,but apparentlythey were interviews in the street, during which interviewees as- used by in religious ceremonies. sertedthat gall bladderswere easily bought. In all major The use of bear parts in traditionalceremonies was towns in these Malaysian states it was often unclear reportedby R. S6zer(University of Amsterdam,the Neth- whether the bladders were from bears or from animals erlands, personal communication) in 1996. According like pigs. Additionally,gall bladdersof other Asian bear to Sizer, a medicine man from East Kalimantan said species (Asiaticblack bear [Selenarctosthibetanus], sloth that hollow bear canines are used as whistles to scare bear [Melursus ursinus], and even polar bear [U. evil spiritsduring traditional ceremonies. S6zer observed maritimus])were allegedly for sale. Prices varied from this at ceremonies in East Kalimantan. I occasionally US$ 20 to 175/bladder(1997) with 1 sloth bear bladder noted hollow canineswhen I investigatedsun bear skulls; sold for US$ 640 (1993). Local intervieweesalso reported in 6 of 85 at least 1 canine was hollow. active trade in several border towns (Tarakan, East Kalimantan; Badau, Entikong, and Seluas, West Sun Bearsas Pets Kalimantan)from Kalimantaninto Sabah and Sarawak Duringthe surveys, I saw 35 sun bears in privatecap- of both live bears and bear parts, indicatinga higher de- tivity. In addition,many more were reportedto be in cap- mand in these Malaysian states than in Kalimantan. tivity elsewhere. Prices of live bears were relatively low I found evidence of non-consumptiveuse of bearparts in Kalimantan,ranging from US$ 15 to 250 (1996), with in all areas of KalimantanI visited. Bear parts offered the highest prices in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. In for sale as souvenirsor found for decorativepurposes in ,the capital of Indonesia,bears were said to cost people's houses included canines, claws, and skins, and between US$ 500 and 750 (1995) (W. Smits, Teamleader any of these parts incorporatedin indigenous artwork. Tropenbos Forestry Project, East Kalimantan,Indone- For example, sun bear skulls engraved with traditional sia, personalcommunication). During the surveys, I saw Dayak (generic name for indigenous tribes of Borneo) only 1 captive sun bear in Sarawak,but the 7 confiscated designs were for sale in Samarinda,East Kalimantan, sun bears at the Semenggok Orang Utan Rehabilitation for Rupiah 250,000 (US$ 110 [1996]). Four of a group Centrein August 1996 indicateda pet trade in Sarawak. 188 Ursus 11:1999

9 .

100 0 100 200 300 Kilometers _ _ _ _ i

Fig. 2. The island of Borneo, the locations of the reported threats to sun bear survival, and sun bear distribution (Meijaard In Press)1994-97. The cross-hatched areas indicate officially protected areas of Borneo (from World Conservation Monitoring Centre and author's data). No data on sun bear presence are available for Sabah, Sarawak, and Brunei. Conflictswith Humans village, was involved. The bear was caught and shot (T. On 3 occasions in East Kalimantan,interviewees ad- O'Brien, WCS Indonesia, Bogor, personal communica- mitted to poisoning or shooting sun bears because of the tion, 1996). damage they caused in snakefruit and coconut planta- tions. Javanese transmigrants and immigrants from Sulawesi also killed sun bears because they were dan- DISCUSSION gerous animals. Almost all informantsagreed sun bears This survey suggests that hunting,the demandfor bear were among the most dangerous animals in the forest. parts and live bears, and conflicts with humans may The general fear of sun bears was exemplified in a news threatensun bear survival on Borneo. However, due to a report on maraudingsun bears. Apparently several sun lack of accurate ecological and distribution data, it is bears had forayed into 4 villages in South Sumatra.The difficult to interprethow seriously sun bears are affected. bears were said to have preyed on more than 200 cattle What can be done is to assess the trend in these threats. (normally not a prey species of the sun bear), and "Vil- lagers had been gripped by fear" (JakartaPost, 14 April Hunting 1997). Closer investigation of this rumor revealed that Sun bear hunting is not a recent phenomenon on only 1 large bear, which had taken several goats from a Borneo. Harrisson (1949), for instance, mentioned that THREATSTO SUNBEARS * Meijaard 189 in Sarawaksun bear hides were used for decorativeseat- demand was high in Kalimantanand that it is still high ing pads that men wore tied to their waists to keep dry in Sabah and Sarawak. Custom records, for instance, when sitting down out of doors or at rice-wine parties. show thatbetween 1970 and 1980,206 kilogramsof bear In Kalimantan,hunting of sun bears is common, despite bile was legally importedfrom Indonesiato South Korea being prohibitedby law. Pfeffer (1958) confirmed this alone (equalling about 7,000 dead sun bears), whereas traditionin East Kalimantan.Puri (1992) noted that sun between 1980 and 1990 legal sales had droppedto only bear parts are used for various traditionalpurposes in 1 kilogram (Mills et al. 1995). This apparentdrop in the mountainousareas of East Kalimantan:ceremonial legal sales of Indonesianbear gall bladdersseems to be clothing, food, jewellery, medicine, protective charms, supportedby this survey. Many informantsclaimed that and hunting trophies. since the mid-1980s, trade in sun bear parts in Hunting in Sarawak was described in detail by Kalimantandecreased until, in some areas, it is almost Caldecott(1988). Duringa door-to-doorsurvey, Caldecott non-existent.Whether this was because of lack of supply (1988) found 74 sun bear trophies and pet sun bears in or lack of demandis unclear,but low availabilityof bear 16 long-houses (the traditional communal homes of gall bladders in shops, combined with low prices in Kalimantan)and 1 town. He consideredthe culturalvalue Kalimantan,suggest that low demand rather than low of bear claws and teeth in his survey area, south, central, supply caused this marketcrash. and east Sarawak,to be important.Caldecott (1988) also There is a clear difference in gall bladderavailability found that approximately1 bear/50hunting families was in Kalimantanand in Sabahand Sarawak.In Kalimantan, killed each year.With an estimated105,000 huntingfami- 3 years of intense surveying revealed only 2 bear gall lies (Cleary and Eaton 1992), potential bear habitat of bladders,but 22 were foundin Sabahand Sarawakwithin 93,000 km2 (Collins et al. 1991, MeijaardIn Press), and a month. It is interestingto note that 6 years before this an estimated bear density of 1 bear/4 km2 (Davies and survey, Mills and Servheen (1991) found 84 gall blad- Payne 1981), some 10%of the bearpopulation in Sarawak ders in 5 of 8 shops surveyedin Sabah,as opposed to the was shot in 1988. Among the animalsand animalgroups 22 gall bladdersin 4 of 20 shops found during this sur- investigated during Caldecott's survey, sun bears were vey. Clearly, this could be explained by a different sur- most often thought to be in rapid decline; 77% of 48 vey technique, but the methods described in Mills and long-houses surveyedin Caldecott'sstudy areasreported Servheen(1991) seem similarto those in the presentsur- a serious decline in the abundanceof this species. vey. This differencecould also indicatethat shop owners Bennettet al. (In Press)concluded that hunters in Sabah have become more careful about providing information and Sarawakhunted sun bears and other species regard- on this illegal product or that the available number of less of legal protection. Some bears are kept as pets gall bladdershas declined. (though that is possibly declining), while others are har- Too little is still known of the tradein bear parts.Fur- vested for theirclaws, gall bladdersand meat. In Sarawak, therdata are requiredon the tradevolume within Borneo sun bears account for 8% of the dressed weight of wild and from Borneo to other parts of Asia before we can animals killed for meat (Bennett et al. In Press). understandthe underlyingmarket mechanisms. Caldecott's (1988) interviews indicated that the sun bear is among the species most affected by hunting in HabitatDisappearance Sarawak. In Kalimantanand Sabah, hunting sun bears Forest destructionis the main threatto many species remains common. In the past, hunting sun bears by tra- in Kalimantan(Rijksen and MeijaardIn Press). The to- ditional means likely had little impact on sun bear popu- tal forest areaof Borneo probablyexceeded 400,000 km2 lations (Banks 1931, Witkamp1932, Westermann1938). in the early 1990s (Collins et al. 1991, DirectorateGen- However, developmentsin the mid-20thcentury, such as eralof ForestInventory and Land Use Planning[INTAG], the introductionof firearms and outboardengines, in- and (Food and AgriculturalOrganization of the United creased hunting efficiency and allowed for longer hunt- Nations [FAO] 1996), althoughmost of this had already ing trips. In addition,the rapidopening of the interiorof been fragmentedthrough logging and humansettlement. Borneo for logging, mining, and transmigration(Rijksen Apart from the 15% of the land set aside for watershed and MeijaardIn Press) made inaccessible areasmore ac- protection and conservation, virtually all forest is ear- cessible to hunters. markedfor logging or conversion to plantationsor agri- culturalland. According to the WorldBank, deforestation Tradein Bears and Bear Parts in Borneo amounted to 7,000 km2 in 1988 (Davis and We do not know to what extent hunting sun bears is Ackermann 1988). According to the Indonesian Land fueled by a demandfor bear parts. We do know that the ResourcesDevelopment Centre an estimated112,000 km2 190 Ursus 11:1999 in Kalimantanalone is under the impact of slash-and- may have a temporaryadvantage in large amounts of bur agriculture(Rijksen and MeijaardIn Press). Other dead vegetal matter and the subsequentincrease in in- data reveal that Kalimantanlost >100,000 km2of forest vertebrates. G. Frederiksson (Tropenbos-Kalimantan, between 1984 and 1990, almost 20% of its total land Balikpapan,Indonesia, personal communication, 1997) area,indicating even higherdeforestation rates (Regional reportedthat a considerablepart of the sun bear's diet Physical PlanningProgramme for Transmigration1990). consists of these insects, althoughin fruitingseason fruit In 1996,24% of the total stateforest in Kalimantan(ironi- was the preferredfood (no exact data available).Joshi et cally consisting of 21% non-forest) was earmarkedfor al. (1995), suggested that the sloth bear,whose diet con- complete conversion to plantationsor other non-forest sists mainly of ants, can overcome the problems of the land, 54% for normal or limited productionforest, and seasonalavailability of vegetablefood items such as fruit. 14% for watershedprotection (INTAG 1996). More importantly,the sloth bear's foraging ecology al- In Sabahand Sarawak, logging intensityincreased con- lows it to subsist in a relatively small home range (Joshi siderablyduring the last decade (Repetto 1988, Manser et al. 1995). Theoretically,this could mean that animals 1992). In Sabah,forest harvestalmost tripledfrom 1,570 with a diet consisting largely of insects may cope better km2/yearin 1980 to 4,263 km2/yearin 1990. In Sarawak, with the fragmentaryeffects of logging. The obviousprob- forest harvest increased from 1,400 to 4,500 km2/year lem of assessing the sensitivity of sun bears to habitat (Rijksen and MeijaardIn Press). In the early 1980s, vir- damageis the absence of informationon ecological char- tually all of Sabah's forests were under timber conces- acteristics, such as foraging dynamics and movement sions, and since the early 1990s, much of the logged-over patterns. forestshave been convertedinto plantations(Rijksen and Too little is known of sun bear ecology to predict the MeijaardIn Press). By 1986, 86% of forested land area effects of various types of logging. The outcome is still of Sarawakwas allocatedto timberconcession. Only the uncertain:Santiapillai and Santiapillai(1996) noted that most inaccessible forest areas in the mountain ranges any disturbanceof the forest is likely to be detrimentalto and on swampy groundsremain unconverted. sun bear populations,whereas Blouch (1984) found that Sun bears occur naturallyin all lowland forest types, sun bears in Sumatrasurvive well in disturbedand un- although densities probably vary (Witkamp 1932, disturbedareas. Westermann1938, Davies and Payne 1981). Under this assumption,forest exploitation data indicate that sun bear Plantations habitatin Borneo is rapidlyshrinking. Despite much dis- Erdbrink(1953) describedthe sun bear preferencefor crepancybetween sources of forest cover data (Meijaard palm hearts,the soft growing point of the coconut palm. In Press), between 1960 and 1990 therewas an estimated This propensitylikely contributedto sun bear unpopu- 30-60% reduction in suitable sun bear habitat (see for larity among plantation owners. Witkamp (1932), for instance FAO 1987, Collins et al. 1991, Rijksen and instance,reported that sun bearsare a real plague in some MeijaardIn Press). Such reduction may have lead to a areas, especially in coconut plantations.More recently, similar decrease in the sun bear's populationsize. Frag- sun bears have been mentionedas an agriculturalpest in mentationeffects from logging and other developments Sabah and Sarawak;plantations affected included sugar and Servheen may have further affected the remaining bear popula- palm, sugar cane and fruit trees (Mills tions. 1991). Sun bears also damage oil palm plantations(C. Servheen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Missoula, EcologicalEffect of Logging Montana, USA, personal communication, 1998.). Cre- Beside the directeffects of logging (i.e., the disappear- ation of plantationsfor this economicallyimportant com- bear ance of habitat),logging also indirectlyaffects sun bears. modity could be a majorthreat to surroundingsun Some bearspecies do quite well in heavily logged forests populations. and because of increased light penetration and associated The reported killing of sun bears in snakefruit that sun bears are treated berry production(D. Garshelis, Minnesota Department coconut plantationsconfirms of NaturalResources, GrandRapids, Minnesota, USA, as pest species in Kalimantan'splantations. In light of crisis in this is personalcommunication, 1998), but othersdo not. Johns the recent economic Indonesia, impor- 2 million hectares in (1983) concluded that animals with a specialized diet tant. Currentlythere are planta- are the most seriously affected by logging in the rain tions in Indonesia.In 1998, to addressthe monetarycrisis, forest of mainlandMalaysia, but that for some opportu- the Ministryof Agricultureannounced that an additional Indo- nistic herbivoresthe disruptionappears to be an advan- 1.5 million hectares of plantationswill be added. claimed that tage. Most adapt to a variety of habitats, and sun bears nesian environmental groups plantation THREATSTO SUN BEARS * Meijaard 191

companies have already seized forested areas (Harris and hunting may still be at a sustainable level in 1998). As the majority of these plantationswill be lo- Kalimantan.Trade in bear partsin Kalimantanis now at cated in lowland forests of Sumatraand Kalimantan,a a low level, but apparentlywas higherin the 1980s. Trade considerable area of sun bear habitat will disappear in beargall bladdersappears to be morecommon in Sabah (MeijaardIn Press), and the sun bear persecution that and Sarawakthan in Kalimantan. was reportedly associated with plantationsmay add to My estimatesindicate that sun bearshave lost 30-60% the demise of the sun bear. of their habitatin Borneo over the last 30 years, mainly through logging and land conversion. Apart from the possible deleteriouseffects of logging and forest conver- RECOMMENDATIONS sion on the carryingcapacity of the habitat,these activi- This surveyidentified threats to the sun bearon Borneo, ties are accompaniedby increasedhuman presence and but I cannotpredict how seriouslythey affect the species. hunting pressure. Conservationissues are complex, especially in Indone- Finally, because of its considerableforest area and its sia where pressureon naturalresources is immense and relatively low human population density, Borneo still where conservation authoritiesare ineffective in allevi- harborsthousands of sun bears, and possibly the largest ating these threats. This paper cannot address all these sun bear populationin the world. The survey data sug- issues, but based on this survey, I suggest the following gest which factors threatensun bear survival, but a lack conservationpriorities for the Borean sun bear. of ecological dataprevents me from drawingconclusions Applied Research.- Study feeding ecology and be- on the sun bear's conservationstatus. However, conser- havior under different logging regimes; develop survey vation managementin Indonesiais at best minimal, and techniques and compare densities in different habitat a lack of data cannot be grounds for complacency. It is types with different levels of disturbance;study the ef- beyond the scope of this paperto provide a detailed ac- fects of hunting pressure, study hunting in plantations. tion plan for the sun bear on Borneo, but in general, fu- Surveys.- Survey bear distribution and density tureaction should be aimedat appliedecological research, Borneo-wide; analyze traderoutes and trade volume. improvedmanagement and protectionof the species, and Policy Matters.- Promote improved conservationof better control and investigation of trade and hunting. the species at national and internationallevel; develop managementguidelines for sun bears in plantations. Education and Awareness.- Design a program that ACKNOWLEDGMENTS shows Borean people the value of these wild animals; I thank the NetherlandsFoundation for International address the medicinal use of bears and bear parts; ad- NatureProtection and the World Society for the Protec- dress the problem of hundredsof bears in captivity. tion of Animals for financial support.The technical as- Train Training.- conservation authoritiesto collect, sistance provided by the Indonesian Ministry of store, and use data on bear distributionand other char- Forestry-TropenbosKalimantan Project, the Indonesian acteristics. Ministry of Forestry, and the Indonesian Institute for Bear Holding Facilities.- Establishbear holding cen- Sciences is acknowledged.Thanks to W. Smits for data ters to help law enforcement and to provide a place to on internationalbear trade and to R. Dennis for useful collect bears. Such centers could be used for educational comments on earlierdrafts of this paper.Finally, I thank Hundredsof sun bear purposes. live in captivity waiting D. Garshelisand an anonymousreferee that pointed out to be slaughteredwhen they are too old to keep as pets. to me the weaknesses of an earlier draft, while M. These animals will not be confiscated as long as there is Vaughanand M. Munson-McGee are thanked for their no suitable follow-up. review of the final draft.

CONCLUSION LITERATURECITED I identified 4 factors affecting the survival of Borean BANKS,E. 1931. A popularaccount of the mammalsof Borneo. sun bears:hunting, trade in bears and bear parts,habitat Journalof the MalayanBranch of the Asiatic Society 9(2): 1- destruction,and establishmentof plantations.The data 139. A.J. and backgroundinformation suggest that hunting pres- BENNETT,E.L., NYAOI,AND J. SOMPUD.In Press. Saving Borneo's bacon: the sure on Borean sun bears is high and may be a sustainabilityof hunting in Sarawak causing and Sabah.in J.G. decrease in the sun bear in Sarawak. How- Robinsonand E.L. Bennett,editors. Blood population on the leaves: for ever, there are no scientific data on Hunting sustainabilityin tropicalforests. population trends, ColumbiaUniversity Press, New York, New York, USA. 192 Ursus 11:1999

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