Our latest Book on the Bird Table is the wonderful Saving Sun Bears by Dr Sarah Pye, which follows the inspirational work of Malaysian ecologist Dr Wong Siew Te or ‘papa bear’ as he tries to save the sun bear from extinction.
The sun bear has become know as the forgotten bear, being the least studied and smallest of the eight bear species, with little conservation effort having been made until Dr Wong Siew Te made it his life’s work. Adult sun bears continue to be poached for body parts thought to have medicinal properties and orphaned cubs are kept illegally as pets while habitat destruction is a further threat to the species.
Saving Sun Bears was written as part of what Sarah calls ‘the best doctorate in the world’. It follows Dr Wong Siew Te as he travels the world learning how to care for rescued animals and how to trap bears, before spending six years in the wilds of Borneo studying the elusive sun bears and eventually creating a rescue centre with the sole goal of saving a species.
This beautiful biography takes the reader on a journey through Dr Wong Siew Te’s life with a descriptive narrative that captures the atmosphere, emotion and urgency of the plight of the sun bear to stunning effect.
If you were not interested in conservation before finding this book, you will be spurred into action as a result of reading it.
Chapters are also dedicated to individual sun bears that have featured along the way, with a peek into the minds of these amazing creatures and their lived experiences including Natalie who learns to survive without her mother, and Bongkud, who is struck by lightning.
If you were not interested in conservation before finding this book, you will be spurred into action as a result of reading it. As the dedication inside states: This book is dedicated to the next generation. May you leave the world in a better condition that it was handed to you.
We all have a responsibility to put the work in to protect the remainder of the natural world and this book helps us to understand how important that work is.
Saving Sun Bears can be bought from book stores including Amazon, Waterstones and Foyles.
Find out more about Saving Sun Bears here and hear an extract below:
About the author:
Dr Sarah Pye was born in Gibraltar. When she was 13, Sarah’s teacher parents moved their family onto a 30ft ketch and she was boat-schooled by the world around her. At 17, she left her floating home for college in the United States. Then, with a hospitality management degree under her arm, continued her westward migration to Hawaii, and on to Australia’s Whitsunday Islands. Sarah’s business, Ocean Rafting, was awarded the Queensland Tourism Award for Best Adventure Product in 2001. As a single parent, Sarah completed her Master of Communication degree at the University of the Sunshine Coast and published a guidebook called Kids Welcome to Queensland in 2009. The resulting travel business led to Sarah being named Sunshine Coast Small Business Woman of the Year in 2010. A trip to Borneo with her daughter changed the trajectory of her life when she met Wong Siew Te. She commenced her Doctor of Creative Arts Degree in 2016, exploring how narratives can be used to engage non-scientists in conservation.
About Dr Wong Siew Te:
Dr Wong Siew Te is the hero of Saving Sun Bears. Wong was born near Penang is Malaysia. He left home to study animal husbandry in Taiwan, then continued on to Montana to learn about bear biology. One day, guest lecturer Professor Chris Servheen mentioned he was looking for a Malaysian student to research the ‘least known bear in the world’. Wong made sure he was first in line. When he started studying sun bears in the jungle of Borneo over 20 years ago, there were only two other sun bear researchers in the world. During his studies, Wong was sponsored to conduct a survey of captive sun bears across Malaysia and what he found was so disturbing that he made a promise to make changes. Wong designed and created a unique rainforest centre called the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) in Sandakan. It is now home to around 40 Malayan sun bears rescued from habitat destruction, poaching and the illegal pet trade. BSBCC focuses on animal welfare, rehabilitation, research and education. In 2017, the University of the Sunshine Coast awarded Wong an honorary doctorate for his tireless work and commitment to save a species. The same year, Wong was named a CNN World Wildlife Hero.
Saving Sun Bears: One man’s quest to save a species
£15.96
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