Vincent Tan, Author at Macaranga

Finding seahorses and naming them gets people excited about conservation, even if they get stuck in silt.

WADING THROUGH a seagrass meadow at low tide, at 6.50am, is anything but graceful for a newbie. Each step in the waterlogged mud forms an air-tight seal around our feet, threatening to swallow our boots and shoes.

Earlier, the Save Our Seahorses (SOS) Malaysia survey team, and a small group of public participants had boarded a small fishing boat, scooting for approximately 20 minutes from the fishing jetty at Pendas, to the Merambong seagrass bed, less than 500m off Johor’s Forest City.

This morning’s search for seahorses goes slow at first, although we see black sea slugs, shrimp, and the occasional crab or fish darting around the centimetres-deep water. Then, our guide Wong Jieyi sights one male seahorse.

(Feature image: At the Merambong seagrass meadow in Johor, volunteers for NGO Save Our Seahorses search for seahorses during low tide at dawn. Changing tide times throughout the year means that sometimes survey trips can take place in complete darkness as well. | Photo: Vincent Tan)

(Feature image: Sun bears Sunbearo and Loki being released into the forest in 2021. The two were among the 12 bears released by the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) between 2015–2022. (Tee Thye Lim/BSBCC))

Returning rescued sun bears to their wild homes is tough and too many die in the process. While conservationists labour to help these bears, they say it is better that the bears never left the forests.

INSIDE SABAH’S Tabin Wildlife reserve, just over an hour’s drive from the seaside town of Lahad Datu, 4 men trudge into a natural clearing in the forest, their footing sure despite the muddy terrain. They are carefully hauling the disassembled parts of a wild bear trap.

One man empties a packet of bait into a small cage made of wire mesh. He hoists and suspends the small cage into the air. His 2 other teammates rapidly assemble the bear trap.

Macaranga

All posts by Vincent Tan

Adopting Seahorses to Save Seagrass Meadows

(Feature image: At the Merambong seagrass meadow in Johor, volunteers for NGO Save Our Seahorses search for seahorses during low tide at dawn. Changing tide times throughout the year means that sometimes survey trips can take place in complete darkness as well. | Photo: Vincent Tan)

Helping Sabah’s Sun Bears Return to the Wild

(Feature image: Sun bears Sunbearo and Loki being released into the forest in 2021. The two were among the 12 bears released by the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) between 2015–2022. (Tee Thye Lim/BSBCC))

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