MONDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

We are pleased to announce the winner of our Name Me Contest. Since April 2014, we have identified the same adult female orangutan and her baby returning to our Hornbill Boardwalk. We decided to find a suitable name for both mother and baby orangutans. Therefore, participants were given the privilege to name our residents and provide reasons for selecting those names.

After much deliberation, we’re happy to congratulate Kate Williams from the United Kingdom (UK) for winning our Name Me Contest. Kate has chosen the name ‘Bertuah' (meaning Lucky) for the Mother orangutan and ‘Hari’ (meaning Day) for the Baby orangutan.

The bond between a parent and a child is one of the strongest connections in nature. We chose the name ‘Bertuah’ for the Mother orangutan and ‘Hari’ for her baby because combining both names to become ‘Lucky Day’ represents their special mother-baby bond. Baby orangutans depend on their mothers for a longer time than any other animal. They will stay with their mothers for an average of eight years, giving them plenty of training for surviving in the rainforest. This training has everything an ape needs to know, from how to climb a tree, how to build a nest, all the way to knowing which fruits in the forest to eat. For the first few years of life, baby orangutans cling to their mothers, not venturing into the trees. As the baby orangutan grows, it moves hand-in-hand with its mother, thus signifying how lucky we are to witness this special bond right in our backyard.

Most of us would use the word ‘Lucky’ whenever something good and unexpected happens to us – it’s not every day our guests get to see a mother orangutan and her baby up close. We believe that both of these names reflect how exotic Borneo wildlife is and how we treasure them because it is truly a Lucky Day for our guests to see them at our lodge and rainforest. Lastly, we believe that both names are simple and memorable, thus leaving a lasting impression – you may remember the mother and baby orangutans when you use the words ‘Lucky Day’.

Kate will receive an orangutan t-shirt, factsheet and regular updates of the mother and baby orangutans together with a certificate of participation.

Sukau Rainforest Lodge would like to thank those who have participated in the contest by submitting beautiful and meaningful names for our Mother and Baby orangutans.

Wong and family

Sukau Rainforest Lodge welcomed founder of Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, Wong Siew Te and family to the lodge at the end of July 2015. Wong is a Malaysian wildlife biologist and sun bear expert. For the last 13 years, Wong has been studying and working on the ecological conservation of the sun bear. He is one of the few Malaysian wildlife biologists trained in a western country. In 1989, he continued his studies at Taiwan’s National Pingtung University of Science and Technology and received his diploma in Animal Science & Veterinary in 1992. In 1994, he studied Wildlife Biology at the University of Montana where he graduated as a Bachelor of Science in 1997. Wong then graduated with a Master of Science in 2002 with the thesis ‘The ecology of Malayan sun bear in the lowland tropical rainforest of Sabah, Borneo’.

From 2002 – 2005, he co-chaired the Sun Bear Expert Team for the IUCN/SSC Bear Specialist Group, a science-based network of voluntary experts within the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). During this time, he also pursued his doctorate in Fish and Wildlife Biology at the University of Montana and conducted his dissertation entitled ‘The effects of selective logging on Malayan sun bears (Helarctos malayanus) and bearded pigs (Sus barbatus) in lowland tropical rainforest of Borneo’.

His pioneering studies of sun bear ecology in the Borneo rainforest revealed the elusive life history of the sun bear in the dense jungle. Wong’s research has taken him to the most threatened wildlife habitat on Earth, where field work is exceedingly difficult. While rapid habitat destruction from unsustainable logging practices, the conversion of the sun bear’s habitat into palm oil plantations and uncontrolled poaching activities paint a bleak picture for the future of the sun bear, Wong is determined to help the present situation of sun bears in Southeast Asia. Wong is the CEO of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, which he founded in 2008.

He was also a fellow of the Flying Elephants Foundation, which awards individuals from a broad range of disciplines in the arts and sciences who have demonstrated singular creativity, passion, integrity and leadership and whose work inspires a reverence for the natural world. Wong is also a current member of three IUCN/SSC Specialist Groups.

Wong during his presentation

Wong was born on May 16, 1969 in Bukit Mertajam, Penang and grew up with eight other siblings – four elder brothers and four elder sisters.

For more information on sun bears in Borneo, please visit the Sun Bear Conservation Centre website at http://www.bsbcc.org.my/.