An SFC team member shows the cage where the sun bear is being quarantined.
The emaciated and hairless sun bear is seen in a cage after its capture.
KUCHING: The hairless sun bear, which caused a sensation online after a video of it went viral, will be rehabilitated at the Matang Wildlife Centre.
Sarawak Forestry Corporation deputy general manager (protected areas and biodiversity conservation) Oswald Braken Tisen said the female sun bear is being quarantined to avoid direct human contact for the time being.
He explained this is to prevent the animal’s condition from deteriorating further and to determine the cause of its emaciated state and hairless condition.
“We are confident the Matang Wildlife Centre is the best place for this sun bear to undergo rehabilitation and return to normal health just like the other bears in the centre. At present, we have 11 sun bears in this centre.
“Its rehabilitation may take longer than normal, but we want the sun bear to be in stable condition so that more in-depth analysis can be done to find out what caused it to be in this condition,” he said when met yesterday.
The sun bear was captured at an oil palm plantation in Bintangor on Thursday and arrived at the centre at 6.30pm.
It was found by plantation workers around 7am within the same area where it was first spotted on Jan 30.
The video of the sun bear moving through the forest had gone viral due to its unrecognisable and mysterious appearance.
Related News: Strange creature captured at last