SOME FACTS ABOUT THE SUN BEAR
- SMALLEST SPECIES OF BEAR -
G'day folks,
The sun
bear is the smallest bear species. With lengthy tongues of up to 25cm, they are
experts at extracting honey from bee nests. They are arboreal, with their small
size and long, curved claws helping them move from tree to tree. Sun bears also
one of the most vulnerable bear species, under threat from habitat destruction
and poaching in their native range.
Amazing Facts About the Sun Bear
The sun
bear can be found in tropical forests of Southeast Asia. It is the smallest
species of bear, with a length of up to 5 feet and weighing up to 150 pounds.
This small size facilitates their arboreal lifestyle of moving about amongst
the trees. Despite their name, sun bears are actually nocturnal, roaming the
forests at night.
Their fur
is mostly black in colour apart from a crescent-like golden patch on their
chest. According to legend, this patch resembles the rising sun, hence the name
‘sun bear’. Their coat is well adapted for the tropical rainforest as it is
short enough to prevent overheating but is thick and coarse enough to protect
against branches and rain.
What is the diet of the sun bear?
Sun bears
are omnivorous, consuming plant material like berries, roots and fruits as well
as animals like insects, small birds, rodents and lizards. Honey is also an
important component of their diet which they extract from bee nests using their
long tongue of up 25 cm in length. Their claws are also quite long and curved
which is useful for opening termite nests and climbing trees. They also have a
superb sense of smell that they use to locate food.
What is the habitat of the sun bear?
Sun bears
resides in Southeast Asia as far west as eastern India, as far north as
southern China and as far south as Indonesia. Their habitat is tropical forest
and the type they live in depends on the geographic location. In Borneo,
Sumatra and peninsular Malaysia, they occur in tropical evergreen rainforest
that consistently receives high rainfall throughout the year. However, on
mainland Southeast Asia they can be found in seasonal forests that experience a
long dry season.
What is the social behaviour of the sun bear?
Sun bears
can be quite elusive so there is a lack of knowledge about their social
behaviour. Similar to other bears like grizzlies
and polar bears, sun bears are generally solitary.
Rarely, they may gather to eat fruit from large trees. Sightings of pairs of
sun bears together may suggest that they are monogamous although this is not
conclusive.
How do sun bears give birth?
Sun bears
don’t appear to have a defined breeding season and generally give birth to one
cub. Cubs are born in dens or in hollow trees and are blind and helpless at
first. At around 2 months, they are capable of moving about and weaning takes
place at around 4 months. Parental care is important in the early life of cubs
and they remain with their mothers for 2 years or more after birth.
Are sun bears endangered?
With
estimated population declines of over 30% over the past 30 years, sun bears are
classed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Sun bears
occupy just a fraction of their former range, having been extirpated from many
areas it originally occupied.
What are the main threats to sun bears?
A major
reason for the decline of sun bears is destruction of their natural forest
habitat, leading to increasingly fragmented populations. Deforestation can
occur to make way for plantations of coffee, oil palms and rubber plants.
Another
threat to sun bears is poaching which is carried out to harvest bear parts.
This includes bear gall bladders and bile products which are sold to be used in
traditional Chinese medicine. This continues despite the lack of evidence that
these have any medicinal benefits. As well as being hunted in the wild, sun
bears are also held in captivity for bile extraction. Over 10,000 are kept in
cages on bile farms in China and subject to the cruel process of bile
extraction, leading to infection and disease.
Clancy's comment: Man, that is some tongue, eh?
I'm ...
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