KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 — The sun bear, the world’s smallest bear species, is often easy to overlook.

Yet this shy, fuzzy creature plays a vital role in maintaining the health of Malaysia’s rainforests — from dispersing seeds to creating homes for other animals.

Despite this, many Malaysians remain unaware that the sun bear lives in their own forests, or that it is one of the most endangered bear species in the world.

Conservationist Wong Siew Te has dedicated years to changing that, working to show how these bears are essential for sustaining rainforest ecosystems.

However, he says much remains to be done.

How are they important?

Wong said one of their "jobs” is as seed dispersers — they help regenerate trees by eating fruits and excreting the seeds far from the mother tree.

They also feed on termites, controlling populations that attack mother trees.

When they feed on stingless bees, they carve out cavities in the trees that later become nesting sites for hornbills and flying squirrels.

"They are also ‘food providers’, as a lot of animals actually follow the sun bears around, and when the bears feed on something, they often leave behind scraps that are picked up by pheasants and other birds,” Wong told Malay Mail in an interview.

"This is why they are known as the umbrella species whose protection helps countless other animals.”

Do enough people know?

For the past 17 years, Wong and his team have been working to raise awareness about sun bears and educate the public on their significance in rainforests.

"I think we managed to reach out to people but not a lot,” he said.

Wong said he hopes to see information on wildlife conservation and environmental protection included in the school curriculum.

"Every kid will grow up knowing that there are wildlife and sun bears because still many people do not know that there is a bear called sun bear that lives in their own country,” he added.

"More Malaysians understand about the sun bears today compared to the past, but not all Malaysians know the existence of the sun bears, so this is something we need to catch up on before it is too late,” said Wong.

Meeting the sun bears

In 1998, Wong arrived in Sabah to conduct research for his Master’s degree, which required him to study wild sun bears.

"I happened to be one of the first — to study the sun bears — and I got to discover a lot of amazing things about them and knew how important they are.

"But when I came out of the forest, I saw another extreme — which is deforestation, logging and poaching, it was very sad,” he said.

That project eventually led Wong to start a conservation centre.

In 2004, Wong received a travel grant from Woodland Park Zoo in the US to travel across Sabah, Sarawak and West Malaysia, to try to understand the situation of the captured sun bears in these three regions.

"The findings were actually quite shocking because so many sun bears are being kept in captivity as pets or display animals in roadside zoos, crocodile farms, and none of these bears were being treated nicely or housed in proper facilities,” he said.

Today, the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) is 17 years old.

Poached, eaten and kept as pets

However, despite Wong’s conservation efforts for the sun bears, threats remain high.

"The biggest threat to the sun bears is still deforestation especially in West Malaysia. After that is hunting and poaching, and followed by sun bears as pets,” he said.

Wong said that habitat fragmentation forces the bears to cross roads to find food or shelter, where they often end up as roadkill.

He added that in the black market, sun bear paws go for about RM5,000 in West Malaysia and RM2,000 in Sabah — based on checks from before the Covid-19 pandemic.

"So what happens is when the mother bear is killed, the bear cub will be placed in the black market for sale," Wong said.

He advised the public to immediately report such cases to the authorities if they come across them.

"Offering money — even to buy the bears as a rescue effort will keep the market alive,” he added.

Wong said that while sun bears are protected by strict laws in most parts of Malaysia, in Sarawak the penalties for harming them are much lighter.

"I have been pushing for a stricter law in Sarawak but it’s a lot of work and it will take time.”

The brighter side

Wong said that in recent years, the centre has had to rescue fewer bear cubs, especially from those who used to keep them as pets.

"It’s much less, but it’s not completely eliminated. So 17 years of work and trying to educate the public, there are still very stubborn people.

"Just two weeks ago, there was another sun bear in West Malaysia that went into someone’s house, Perhilitan believes that it’s someone’s house pet,” he added.

What does the centre still need?

The BSBCC was thriving, self-sustaining from eco-tourism, until Covid-19 brought the world to a halt. The centre lost its main income — tourists.

"No tourists, no income. But the bears still needed food, medicine and care. Our costs remained high,” he said.

That was when Wong reached out to the Hasanah Foundation — under sovereign wealth fund Khazanah — which then established a new funding category for animal welfare.

"The grant helped cover bear food, medicine, and partial salaries for bear keepers during the pandemic,” he said.

Looking ahead to 2026, when the sun bear will serve as the Visit Malaysia mascot, Wong said this recognition will help raise global awareness about conservation efforts for the Malaysian bear.

"I’m looking forward to tourists coming to the centre to learn more about the sun bears.

"At the same time, more tourists means more income for the conservation centre,” he added.