Human-Imposed Threats to Sun Bears in Borneo Methods

HUMAN-IMPOSEDTHREATS TO SUN BEARS IN BORNEO 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 Kalimantan,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 orangutan 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 West Kalimantan (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 Pontianak, 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 South Kalimantan 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 Indonesia,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 Dayak people 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

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