Freedom for Itam in the wild at last

In her best interest: BSBCC’s veterinary team conducting a final health check on Itam before her journey to Tabin Wildlife Reserve; before her release, Itam was housed at BSBCC in Sandakan, where she spent nearly five years picking up survival skills.

KOTA KINABALU: The night was still. At exactly midnight, within the quiet confines of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC), a team carefully loaded Itam, a five-year-old sun bear, into a metal crate, where her journey to freedom would begin.

For the first time in years, Itam was leaving her enclosure – not for another routine check-up this round, but for her real home.