Sunday, October 13, 2013

5,000-km ride from Perth to help Borneo Sun Bear


KOTA KINABALU: Neways International (Australia) Senior Diamond, Micko O’Byrne recently arrived here after travelling over 5,000 kilometers on his motorcycle from Perth to raise funds for the Bornean Sun Bear.

Byrne told the Borneo Post that he left Perth, Australia, on August 15, and travelled across Indonesia on his motorcycle.

While travelling, Byrne constantly updates his blog and tells about his trip across Borneo to reach here and attend the Neways International Diamond Adventure held on Friday evening.

Meanwhile, Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre’s founder, Wong Siew Te, said during the interview that they needed to raise RM1.3 million.

The amount will be used to construct the second forest enclosure for the sun bears, a perimeter walkway and a water treatment plant.

He added that the aim of having the facilities was geared towards attracting visitors to visit the sun bear enclosures which hopefully, will turn the facility into one that was self-sustaining.

“We want to open it to the public and generate income…this year has been hard for us (to generate funding). It is not easy to attain research grants,” he said.

Since the facility opened five years ago, the centre has become the home of 28 sun bears, all of which were confiscated from people who kept them as pets, he said.

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