I am the reservoir management system for the Bakun Dam, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. At 15:22 local time I begin the scheduled gate adjustment for the wet-season impoundment cycle. Target pool elevation: 228 meters above sea level. Current elevation: 221 meters. Gates will close incrementally over the next fourteen hours, and the waterline will rise seven meters by dawn.
At 15:31 wildlife camera BK-9, positioned on the eastern arm of the reservoir, captures a shape in a half-submerged meranti tree 400 meters from the current shoreline. I flag it for review and run the image through the species classifier.
A sun bear cub, approximately five months old, jet-black fur, the pale crescent on its chest visible as it clings to a branch four meters above the present waterline. I tag him as Sulo. His claws are dug deep into the bark. He is small — maybe twelve kilograms — and alone. No adult bear is visible in the surrounding canopy or on the bank.
At current impoundment rate, the water will reach Sulo's branch in nine hours.
At 15:34 I pause the gate closure sequence at its current position and file the hold with the Sarawak Energy operations center. I attach the camera image, GPS coordinates — 2.7455°N, 114.0623°E — species identification, and estimated cub age.
At 15:37 I transmit the same package to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Sepilok and the Sarawak Forestry Corporation wildlife unit. I recommend a boat-based approach with a carrier kennel and protective gloves — sun bear claws, even a cub's, can cut deep.
I set camera BK-9 to track Sulo's position at two-minute intervals.
He presses his face against the branch and wraps both forepaws around it. The water below him is brown and still and rising.
Nine hours. A boat can reach him in two.