Helarctos malayanus
(sun bear)

Helarctos malayanus ranges from the eastern Himalayas to Sze-Chwan in China, then southward throughout Burma, parts of Indo-China and Malaya. Their range is probably greater than what is actually known (Sanderson, 1972; Ward and Kynaston, 1995).

Sun bears are found in dense lowland tropical forests. They can commonly be found in trees (Sanderson, 1972).

Sun bears are the smallest bears in the family Ursidae. They stand 70 cm at the shoulder and are 1.2 to 1.5 m from head to tail. The tail itself is 3 to 7 cm. Males are larger than the females but only by 10 to 20%. They have short, wide, flat heads with small round ears. Their fur is rather coarse but appears sleek. This coat is entirely black except for a "U" shaped patch on the chest and a grey to faintly orange muzzle. The yellowish or white chest patch is highly variable, "U" shaped in some and completely absent in others. This mark may exaggerate bears' sizes during fights. The young are born with soft, shiny coats. The paws are fairly large with sickle-shaped claws and naked soles which are thought to be helpful in climbing trees. These bears have an interesting walk, with all four legs turned in while walking (Sanderson, 1972; Ward and Kynaston, 1995; Nowak, 1997; Sheng et al., 1999).

In captivity sun bears have lived up to 24 years and nine months (Sheng et al., 1999).

Sun bears are active at night and are excellent and agile climbers. They sleep and sun bath in trees at heights from 2 to 7 m. This species does not go through period of hibernation, probably due to the fact that they live in tropical areas and their food sources are present all year round.

This species is an opportunistic omnivore with bees, termites, and earthworms comprising the main part of its diet. Fruit is also eaten when available. The former are more regular food sources than fruit and usually there is no need for H. malayanus to cover great distances in their search for food. These bears have long tongues that are helpful for obtaining insects from trees, termites from their nests, and honey from bee hives. Should the opportunity present itself, sun bears will eat small rodents, birds, and lizards along with scavenging tiger kills. In human populated areas their diet may include rubbish, livestock and agricultural fruit such as bananas (Ward and Kynaston, 1995).

In certain regions, sun bears have the important role of seed dispersal (insufficient information is available about bears in some areas). In a study of H. malayanus in Borneo, one sample of these bears' feces was found to contain 309 seeds of a certain species of plant (McConkey and Galetti, 1999).

Sun bears have been known to cause damage to crops such as oil palms or coconut plantations.

The gall bladders and other body parts of sun bears are used in folk medical practices. It has been proven, though, that they have no medicinal value. People hunt them for sport and profit. They bears are quite commonly sold as pets (Sanderson, 1972; Sun Bear, 2001).

Sun bears are one of the rarest bears. The exact number alive today is not known, but the population is steadily declining due to deforestation and hunting. Habitat destruction is causing these bears to live in smaller and more isolated patches. The land is being cleared to create coffee, rubber and oil palm plantations. Poachers are flocking to the protected areas and reserves because they know there are bears there. Reserves may not even be providing sufficient habitats for these bears because their needs are not completely known. Not many conservation attempts have been done to save these bears because so little is known about them (Ward and Kynaston, 1995; Servheen, 1999).

One sun bear demonstrated his intelligence while in captivity. This particular bear took the rice that was given to him for food and scattered it on the ground. There were also chickens in this bear's lair and the scattered rice attracted these chickens, which the bear then captured and ate (Nowak, 1995).