Singapore, 29 April 2011 – Singapore Zoo visitors will soon have to be bid farewell to one-year-old Malayan sun bear, Indera. He will be making his way to the United Kingdom end May, where he will reside at the Rare Species Conservation Centre (RSCC), as part of an animal exchange programme.

Indera is the proud descendent of two generations of sun bears at the Singapore Zoo. Wildlife institutions around the world carry out animal exchanges to maximise genetic diversity and sustain captive breeding of the species. This helps to guarantee a captive population of the species should any natural or man-made disaster wipe out any one species in certain parts of the world.

The RSCC forms part of The Rare Species Conservation Trust which is a registered United Kingdom charity. It is home to the world’s lesser known rare and endangered species of animals and is an education and captive breeding facility. Other wildlife that reside at the RSCC include the extremely rare Bali starling, endangered Sambirano bamboo lemur and the New Guinea singing dog.

Found primarily in the rainforests of Southeast Asia, these elusive Malayan sun bears are the smallest yet most aggressive bear species and are classified as vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. Reliable estimates of sun bear populations are lacking.

In exchange for Indera, the Singapore Zoo will receive a pair of jaguarandi, a medium-sized wild cat which will be housed at the upcoming river-themed attraction the River Safari, and one fishing cat for the Night Safari.

Before Indera the young sun bear embarks on his new adventure, vets at WRS gave him a complete physical health check, including an x-ray, to ensure he is safe to travel.Indera's health checkIndera's health checkIndera's health check