Sun Bear Conservation Volunteering Project, Malaysia

Volunteering Solutions offers an amazing Short-Term Volunteering opportunity in Malaysia, where you’ll get to spend 2 weeks at a Sun Bear Conservation Centre.

The project is at the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre where you will need to get down and dirty taking care of the smallest bears in the world, working to clean their dens, and creating environmental and food enrichment. There will be no direct contact with the animals. In addition to enriching the sun bears living conditions, you will learn about sun bears in the stages of rehabilitation and the process of releasing them back into the wild. Working alongside local people will enable you to experience and understand Malaysian culture. You will also have time off to explore the beautiful surroundings of Sepilok and nearby towns and wildlife sanctuaries.

The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center is located approximately 19 km from Sandakan town. The centre currently has 2 bear houses that are housing 43 bears as well as 1.14 hectares of natural forest enclosure where the bears can roam free during the day (and night). In addition to enriching the living conditions of the sun bears, you will learn about sun bears in the stages of rehabilitation and the process of releasing them back into the wild.

Perfect for students,backpackers as well as mature volunteers, this project will give you first-hand international work experience and let you gain an insight about how these animals are conserved and taken care of. It’ll be an incredible opportunity for you to understand and compare the situation of captive/rehab sun bears and those with threatened habitats as well as raise awareness on responsible living and travelling among tourists, local community, and students.

Want to see other ways to make an impact? Check out our Volunteer in Asia programs.

Volunteer Roles & Responsibilities

As a volunteer at the Conservation Centre, you’ll have to carry out the following tasks:

Animal Husbandry – This involves cleaning the cages and feeding the bears. You will rotate working with different sun bears depending on the needs of the bears. You may not work with sun bears on a daily basis. Some daily maintenance work such as general maintenance (eg: painting) may be included.

Enrichment – The idea of enrichment is to stimulate the animals and improve their living conditions as much as possible, in order to provide them with something closer to their natural habitat. Volunteers will be involved in designing & preparing the enrichment procedures. The effectiveness of the enrichment items on animal’s behaviour will then be observed.

Construction – As a volunteer, you may be asked to design and work on small construction projects to improve the night dens/enclosures of selected animals. This may include assisting in building new exhibits and extensions to improve the conservation center facilities or improving existing exhibits by adding furniture/painting.

Education – There is an education centre and library at Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. Volunteers may be asked to talk to school children and visitors at the centre about sun bears, and how to conserve them. You may also be asked to prepare displays and update the blogs or do data entry of the Bear Behaviour Record & the Weekly Record.

Note: Not all activities will be included on your itinerary. Changes to the activities will occur subject to weather conditions, school calendar, community and project requirements. Activities not listed above may also be added if deemed suitable / necessary by the project coordinator.

Requirements & eligibility

Volunteers must be 18 years or older at the time of joining the project. You need to have an open mind and a flexible attitude for working in a new and different environment. The volunteer should bring energy and enthusiasm to make a difference. Participants must be fit and healthy at the time of joining the program. Every volunteer is required to show a doctor’s letter stating that the volunteer is free from Tuberculosis, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B & Tetanus  (results have to be dated less than 6 months from project date) prior to joining the program.There will be an online interview with the local team, and only after selection, your application will be confirmed. In case you are not selected to be a part of the concerned program, a full refund will be provided.