Sun bear still on the loose as Perhilitan widens Seremban search

SEREMBAN, Oct 7 — Police have stepped up patrols around Taman Tuanku Ja’afar (TTJ) after a sun bear was spotted in the residential area, with authorities widening the search as the animal remains uncaught.

Seremban district police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Yatim Osman said the patrols were aimed at helping keep residents safe amid concerns that the bear could approach or attack people, Harian Metro reported today.

“Although this falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks we are also helping by patrolling the surrounding areas to detect the animal,” he said.

“At least the presence of police personnel on patrols will discourage the animal from approaching residential areas and make residents feel safer, but I advise them to remain vigilant,” he said.

The department, commonly known as Perhilitan (the Malay abbreviation of Jabatan Perlindungan Hidupan Liar dan Taman Negara), is conducting the search with the help of its personnel and members of the public, while police are assisting with efforts to safeguard residents.

Negeri Sembilan Perhilitan director Wan Mat Wan Harun said the department had widened its search after the bear failed to enter a trap set nearby.

“Perhilitan is still monitoring and tracking the bear’s movements around TTJ and nearby areas.

“For now, we are carrying out monitoring within a wider search area,” he was quoted as saying.

Wan Mat said this was the first report the department had received of a sun bear entering the TTJ residential area.

He said Perhilitan had previously received information about a sun bear at Kem 15 Rejimen Askar Melayu Diraja in Senawang, next to Taman Tuanku Ja’afar, on September 19.

“The animal was believed to have entered the residential area because it was hungry and looking for food, and the bee nests kept at the camp were raided by the bear,” he said.

The search follows a video uploaded to TikTok showing the animal tearing into the roof of a hut in the housing area at about midnight last Sunday.

The sun bear is the world’s smallest bear species and is native to South-east Asia, including Malaysia. 

It is classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, with its population declining due mainly to habitat loss, hunting and human-bear conflict. 

As a forest-dependent animal, sun bears can occasionally venture into human settlements in search of food, bringing them into potentially dangerous encounters with residents.