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Sun Bear
Sun Bear
The Sun bear is the smallest and one of the rarest bear species. It is also known as the "honey bear", for its love of honeycombs and honey. Sun bears have jet-black, short, and sleek fur with some under-wool; some individuals are reddish or gray in color.

General Information:

Common Name:Sun Bear
Scientific Name:Helarctos Malayanus
Kingdom: Animalia
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family:Ursidae
Suborder:Ursinae
Genus:Helarctos

Description

The Sun bear is the smallest and one of the rarest bear species. It is also known as the "honey bear", for its love of honeycombs and honey. Sun bears have jet-black, short, and sleek fur with some under-wool; some individuals are reddish or gray in color. Two whirls occur on the shoulders, from where the hair radiates in all directions. A crest is seen on the sides of the neck and a whorl occurs in the center of the breast patch. Always, a more or less crescent-shaped pale patch is found in the breast that varies individually in color ranging from buff, cream, or dirty white to ochreous. The legend says that Sun bears were named after this patch on their chest because it represents the rising sun.

Distribution

Sun bears are found in the tropical rainforest of Southeast Asia ranging from northeastern India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam to southern Yunnan Province in China, and on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia. Their current distribution in eastern Myanmar and most of Yunnan is unknown.

Habitat

These bears inhabit tropical evergreen forests, montane forest and may also be found in the mangrove forest.

Mating Habits

Little is known about the mating system in Sun bears. During the time of mating, these bear show behaviors such as hugging, mock fighting, and head bobbing with its mate. They breed throughout the year. Females give birth to 1 or 2 cubs weighing about 280-325 g (9.9-11.5 oz) each after the gestation period that lasts around 95-174 days. Cubs are born blind and hairless. Initially, they are totally dependent on their mothers and suckle for about 18 months. After 1 to 3 months, the young can run, play, and forage near their mothers. They become independent at 2 years of age and reach reproductive maturity after 3-4 years.

Diet

Sun bears are omnivores and bees, beehives, and honey are their important food items. They also feed primarily on termites, ants, beetle larvae, bee larvae and a large variety of fruit species, especially figs when available. During feeding, the Sun bear can extend its exceptionally long tongue 20-25 cm (7.9-9.8 in) to extract insects and honey.

Threats
  1. The two major threats to Sun bears are habitat loss and commercial hunting.
  2. These threats are not evenly distributed throughout their range. In areas where deforestation is actively occurring, they are mainly threatened by the loss of forest habitat and forest degradation arising from clear-cutting for plantation development, unsustainable logging practices, illegal logging both within and outside protected areas, and forest fires. li>
  3. The main predator of Sun bears throughout their range by far is a man. Commercial poaching of bears for the wildlife trade is a considerable threat in most countries.
  4. Sun bears are among the three primary bear species specifically targeted for the bear bile (a digestive fluid produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder, which is used by some in traditional Chinese medicine) trade in Southeast Asia, and are kept in bear farms in Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar.


IUCN Status

Vulnerable