Is somebody playing Jumanji in Terengganu? First, there were the orcas that appeared in the sea, then, the tiger made an appearance. Now, there have been reports of a sun bear as well.
After capturing a tiger in Dungun last Friday (19 July), the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN) in Terengganu have captured a sun bear, reported Harian Metro. The sun bear was caught at Kampung FELDA Belara, Kuala Terengganu today (23 July).
The Director of PERHILITAN Terengganu, Dr Abdul Malek Mohd Yusof said that a villager noticed the sun bear was trapped in the cage at 7.30am.
According to the director, they set up the trap two weeks ago in order to capture the bear because they received complaints from the villagers. The bear didn’t fall for the trap and the cage was moved to a new location since then. The sun bear is also known locally as beruang anjing.
“However, the bear only entered the trap after it was moved about 100 metres away from the original location which was near a villager’s house,” he added.
“The sun bear is dangerous and it can hurt people if it feels threatened, especially with its sharp claws. That made the villagers worry for their safety,” he explained.
PERHILITAN will do a medical examination on the bear and if it is healthy, they would release it near the Taman Negara area. If the bear is found to be unwell, they will send it to the Wildlife Conservation Center in Sungkai, Perak for further action.
Abdul Malek said that it was the third time a sun bear was captured this year. Two of the previous cases were in Jambu Bongkok, Marang, Terengganu.
Abdul Malek also agreed that the sun bear’s habitat may have been disturbed which caused it to roam near the village, looking for food and shelter.
Fortunately, nobody was hurt during the whole thing. Hopefully, the sun bear would be found healthy and is fit to released back into the wild, where they belong.
Also read: Two Tigers Spotted Casually Roaming Around in Broad Daylight in Terengganu Village