Escaped sun bear captured
Published on: Wednesday, November 02, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Wildlife Department captured a sun bear which escaped from an illegal captivity in Kampung Pengkalan Abai in Kota Belud, Monday. A man was injured while trying to recapture the sun bear on Thursday last week. The department revealed that the bear was initially kept as a pet by a 37-year-old man inside a metal cage behind his house after obtaining it from a friend in Keningau more than a year ago when the animal was still a baby.
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Citing it was illegal to keep sun bear in captivity as it is a protected species, the department's director Augustine Tuuga said the department was alerted about the matter last Friday. "A team was sent to recapture the sun bear on Saturday and managed to do so by darting it with a tranquilliser after successfully spotted the bear's location at a nearby forest."The bear is now at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park clinic and currently healing from the injuries that it sustained while escaping from the captivity," he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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He said keeping a protected species such as the sun bear can potentially endanger people's lives when the animal escapes captivity.
