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Cara beruang matahari di Asia Tenggara diselamatkan dan dipantau dengan Google Earth

Ditulis oleh: Raleigh Seamster, Pengurus Kanan Program, Google Earth Outreach

Beruang matahari di Asia tenggara sangat sesuai untuk persekitaran hutan mereka: padat, omnivor, dan dibina untuk memanjat pokok. Tidak seperti beruang Amerika Utara, beruang matahari menghabiskan sebahagian besar hidupnya di kanopi hutan, tidak lebih daripada mencari tempat yang baik untuk tidur di atas pokok.

Tetapi kehidupan beruang matahari penuh dengan cabaran, seperti mencari makanan secara berterusan dan ancaman daripada beruang matahari lain yang bersaing untuk mendapatkan wilayah. Dalam beberapa dekad kebelakangan ini, ancaman yang lebih berbahaya telah muncul: manusia yang menebang hutan, menceroboh habitat beruang matahari dengan pembangunan, dan memburu mereka untuk dijadikan makanan atau haiwan peliharaan.

Melihat beruang matahari yang dikurung serta keadaan di mana ia dipelihara, memberi kesan mendalam kepada ahli biologi hidupan liar Malaysia, Wong Siew Te dan memberikan inspirasi untuk penubuhannya Pusat Pemuliharaan Beruang Matahari Borneo (BSBCC) di Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia. Wong menjadi pakar dalam kajian beruang matahari semasa belajar di Universiti Montana, di mana beliau mengembara ke Borneo untuk mengkaji spesies ini di habitat semula jadi mereka. Apa yang ditemuinya adalah populasi beruang liar yang terancam dan spesies yang sering disalah fahami di peringkat tempatan, dan hampir tidak dikenali serta kurang dihargai di peringkat global.

Gambar ihsan dari Pusat Pemuliharaan Beruang Matahari Borneo

Di hutan tebal, mencari tanda beruang matahari

Untuk mencapai matlamat pemuliharaan beruang matahari, tugas BSBCC bergantung pada lima teras: kebajikan, pemulihan, pendidikan, penyelidikan dan ekopelancongan. Pada peringkat awal, organisasi Wong diberikan kuasa untuk menyita beruang matahari yang dipelihara secara haram; hanya lebih 40 ekor beruang pada masa ini membentuk populasi beruang yang disimpan di rizab seluas 4,200 hektar bersebelahan dengan bangunan Pusat Pemuliharaan. Menyelamatkan beruang terus menjadi salah satu keutamaan organisasi. Jika beruang itu cukup muda, BSBCC akan cuba memulihkan mereka sepanjang hayat di dalam hutan.

Dalam usaha penyelidikannya, BSBCC turut menjalankan kajian terhadap beruang matahari di alam liar di Rizab Hidupan Liar Tabin (Tabin Wildlife Reserve) berdekatan, iaitu lebih 120,000 hektar. "Walaupun saya telah mengkaji beruang matahari selama 26 tahun, masih banyak yang perlu dipelajari tentang beruang matahari," kata Wong. "Habitat mereka terdiri daripada hutan tebal dan padat menjadikannya sangat mencabar untuk penyelidik menjalankan kajian, dan inilah sebab utama mengapa maklumat mengenai mereka masih sangat terhad."

Sebahagian besar kerja yang doijalankan oleh BSBCC bergantung pada Google Earth Pro dan imejan satelit yang digunakan oleh Wong dan penyelidik lain untuk lebih memahami kawasan perlindungan hidupan liar. "Imej-imej ini memberi kami pandangan terperinci mengenai topografi, jenis tumbuh-tumbuhan dan penggunaan tanah," kata Wong. "Sesetengah kawasan ini sangat terpencil sehinggakan peta terperinci tidak tersedia untuk mereka."

Wong dan rakan-rakannya mendapati bahawa menambahkan data peta mereka pada imejan satelit Google Earth boleh memberitahu mereka lebih banyak tentang habitat beruang matahari daripada peta topografi yang mudah. "Kami dapat mengenal pasti perbezaan antara kanopi hutan tua, hutan sekunder, dan pelbagai jenis tumbuh-tumbuhan," kata Wong.

Selain imej satelit beresolusi tinggi dari Google Earth, Wong turut menambah data daripada kamera jauh, kolar pemancar yang dipasang pada beruang yang dipulihkan, serta pemerhatian penyelidik di lapangan. Peta ini bukan sahaja menunjukkan lokasi beruang, kawasan jelajah, dan corak pergerakan mereka, tetapi juga membantu memahami jenis persekitaran yang mereka gemari serta bagaimana mereka bertindak balas terhadap gangguan habitat.

Kapsyen: Data dan pemerhatian tentang beruang madu ditindih pada Google Earth (Kredit: Pusat Pemuliharaan Beruang Matahari Borneo)

Wong dan pasukannya boleh menggunakan maklumat itu untuk mengelakkan beruang liar semasa perjalanan rehabilitasi di dalam hutan, memutuskan penempatan kamera jauh dan memilih kawasan yang memerlukan kajian lanjut. "Ini semua adalah maklumat penting untuk mengkaji ekologi beruang-semuanya bermula dengan peta," kata Wong.

Wong dan penyelidik lain juga menggunakan mudah alih Google Earth bersama-sama unit GPS untuk mencari jalan, yang bukan tugas kecil di bahagian dunia ini.

"Kadang-kadang kami perlu pergi jauh di luar jangkauan jalan raya, meredah hutan dan juga mengupah penduduk kampung tempatan untuk membawa kami ke laluan air dengan bot mereka," kata Wong. "Peta Google Earth membantu kami mencari laluan terbaik, paling selamat dan paling tidak memberi kesan ke tapak yang perlu kami lawati di dalam hutan."

Soalan juta dolar: Berapa banyak beruang matahari yang ada?

Melangkah ke hadapan, Wong dan pasukan penyelidiknya berharap dapat menggunakan Google Earth untuk menjawab apa yang beliau gelarkan sebagai "persoalan bernilai sejuta ringgit", iaitu berapa banyak beruang matahari yang masih wujud di hutan Malaysia? "Kami mempunyai seorang pelajar siswazah yang sedang membangunkan grid kamera jauh," jelas Wong. "Semoga jika kami dapat mengumpulkan data yang mencukupi daripada itu, kami boleh mencari cara untuk menganggarkan populasi dan kepadatan mereka."

Maklumat yang dikumpul daripada perangkap kamera akan membantu menentukan garis dasar untuk kajian masa depan–dan yang lebih penting, memberikan petunjuk tentang kesihatan habitat beruang matahari dan seterusnya, persekitaran yang lebih besar yang mereka kongsi dengan manusia.

"Sebagai ahli biologi, dan sebagai ahli ekologi hutan, saya tahu betapa halusnya ekosistem, dan betapa saling berkaitan unsur-unsur itu," kata Wong. "Apa yang berlaku dengan satu spesies mungkin akan menjejaskan yang lain. Dan inilah sebabnya mengapa memelihara beruang matahari adalah sangat penting."

Google Malaysia Highlights Tools to Keep Families Safe Online

As search interest in ‘Screen Time’ surges, Google tools, resources, and parental controls are available to manage device usage and create a safer online experience for children

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Google Malaysia Highlights Tools to Keep Families Safe Online

As search interest in ‘Screen Time’ surges, Google tools, resources, and parental controls are available to manage device usage and create a safer online experience for children

With families increasingly turning to digital platforms for education and entertainment, online safety has never been more top-of-mind for parents. According to Google Trends, search interest in ‘screen time’ reached an all-time high in Malaysia in December 2024, as more parents looked for ways to manage their children’s online habits. To help families navigate the digital world with confidence, Google Malaysia is reinforcing its ongoing commitment to online safety by spotlighting the tools, resources, and parental controls available across its platforms.

“As more kids and teens become savvy navigators of the digital world, it’s important that families are empowered with the right knowledge and tools to ensure that the Internet remains a safe space for everyone. We understand that each family’s relationship with technology is unique, and that’s why we’ve built easy-to-use parental controls such as Family Link and YouTube supervised experiences as well as digital literacy programs like Be Internet Awesome to aid in their digital parenting.  Together, we will be able to build a safer digital environment for all Malaysians,” said Farhan Qureshi, Country Director, Google Malaysia.

Putting Parents in Control Across Google Products

According to the APAC Kids and Families Online Safety Survey, 3 in 4 Malaysian children are spending an average of 1 to 6 six hours daily on digital platforms*. The top three types of inappropriate content reported by parents were misinformation (56.4%); deceptive ads and spam (52.3%); as well as violent content (45.9%).

In response to more children going online, Google’s search data in the past 12 months also reflects parents’ interest in online safety solutions that help manage digital risks for their children. "Screen time for kids" was a top 10 related search term among Malaysians,  while the search term "recommended screen time by age" saw a 50% rise in interest.

Over the years, Google has invested in building safety features and controls in its products that help keep Malaysian families safe online without having to change any settings. 

For example, to make online searches safer and prevent accidental exposure to inappropriate content, SafeSearch on Google is automatically enabled for all signed-in users under 18 years old, and blurs explicit imagery such as pornographic images, videos, and websites across all searches.

In addition, Google has also developed parental controls that empower parents to secure and manage their children’s online experience - while helping them build healthy digital habits. These protections are an important way of creating an environment where children can learn and explore safely. Some of the most impactful features that are helping parents across Malaysia include:

• Parental Controls for a Safe Experience:  Family Link is an app created to help parents set up a supervised account for their child. With the app, parents are able to understand how their child is spending time on their device, find the screen time that works best, stay connected on the go, as well as manage and secure their children’s accounts.

• New tools such as the ability to set Downtime and School time to help reduce distractions, parent-managed contacts, and an improved interface were also added to help foster healthy digital habits.
  

• Manage children’s access to websites in Chrome browser: Enable parents to manage their child’s access to specific websites when they are using the Chrome browser on their Android or Chrome OS device. Parents may choose to limit access only to websites that they are comfortable with, or block specific sites that they don’t want their child to visit. This can be done through the Family Link app by tapping on Manage Settings > Google Chrome and choosing the setting that’s right for the family.”
  

Additionally, YouTube is more than just entertainment for Malaysian  youth – it's a place for them to learn new skills, dive deep into their passions, express their unique selves, and discover creators. To make it a safe and positive experience, YouTube has also invested in a range of features and policies to protect younger users:

• YouTube Kids: A separate app that offers a more contained and curated environment for children. Parental controls on YouTube Kids allows families to limit screen time, only show videos approved by the parent or select suitable content based on the age of the child.
  

  
  
  

• Supervised Experiences for pre-teens and teens  on YouTube: On the main YouTube app, parents can set up a  supervised experience on YouTube to manage the content that their children view – such as  live streams, live chats, comments and the types of videos they can watch. The Family Center hub also allows parents and teens the option to link their accounts and get shared insights and notifications.
  

  
  
  

• Empowering teens to manage their screen time: Features like Bedtime reminders and Take a Break  notifications that encourage healthy digital habits are turned on by default for viewers under 18 years old, across short and long-form videos, with a default setting for Take a Break reminders every 60 minutes. Autoplay is also disabled for teenagers to give them more control over their viewing experience.

  
  
  

Building programs to elevate digital literacy in Malaysia

Beyond built-in safety features, Google is investing in education and free resources to equip families, schools, and communities with the knowledge they need to navigate the digital world safely. The free digital citizenship programme, Be Internet Awesome, has empowered more than 148,000 children to develop critical online safety skills. It is also available in Malay, and accessible via DELIMa (Digital Educational Learning Initiative Malaysia).

In addition, Google also launched the Be Internet Awesome World, a new gaming experience on Roblox that will bring these same safety lessons to life in an interactive and fun way.

Roblox is one of the most popular online gaming platforms, with over 79.5 million daily active users. Working with Roblox helps Google to reach children where they are already spending time to teach them the basics of online safety. Visitors will explore the magical world of the Internauts and learn how to navigate various real-world scenarios and risks by applying safety tips and critical thinking skills. They will have the ability to play multiple games, each based on a specific safety topic, ranging from identifying phishing attempts to practicing kindness online. During the game, players will receive immediate feedback, helping them learn through trial and error.

Find More Resources at the Google Safety Center

Google remains committed to providing families with accessible, easy-to-use tools that help them manage screen time, filter content, and protect their children online. Parents can explore these features and safety guides at the Google Safety Center.

*The survey was conducted in 2023 with 8,000 parents across Australia, India, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In Malaysia, the survey was conducted with 500 parents who have at least one child aged five to 17 years old.