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Least Concern Extinct. There is always a more or less crescent-shaped pale patch on the breast that varies individually in colour ranging from buff, cream or dirty white to ochreous. International Bear News. The skin is naked on the upper lip.
Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus)
Pennsylvania: Rodale Press. Galidia Ring-tailed vontsira G. They are omnivores, feeding primarily on termites, ants, beetle larvae, bee larvae and a large variety of fruit species, especially figs when available.
About Sun Bears – Sumatran Sun Bear Team.
Language English. Key Facts. Common name Common Names. Latin name Scientific Name Helarctos malayanus. Population How many? There are no reliable population figures.
Physical Description The sun bear can be clearly distinguished from other bears by a white or yellowish patch on the chest. Sun bears are excellent climbers and spend considerable time in trees. They feed on sweet fruits, small rodents, birds, termites, and other insects. Size Length: cm Weight: kg Habitat Southeast Asian tropical forests, including tropical evergreen rainforest, montane forest and swamp habitat.
However, it has mostly disappeared in recent decades from most of its former ranges. Nevertheless, Sun Bear is still found widespread in a few protected areas in Cambodia ‘s Mondolkiri province and Virachey National Park.
What are the main threats? Like other bears in Asia, Sun bears are hunted for their gall bladders and other body parts for medicinal uses that have been proven by scientist to have no medical value at all. Female nursing sun bears are sometimes killed and their cubs are captured to be sold in the pet trade. Habitat destruction caused by clearance for plantation development and illegal logging is also another major threat to the small remaining critical population of this species.
They will sometime feed on certain palms and some species of flowers and have been known to eat eggs and small reptiles. Sun Bears are known as very fierce animals when surprised in the forest, but usually run away when humans are near. This makes it a very rare experience to see a Sun Bear in the wild. Most sightings of Sun Bears in the wild are through infra-red camera trap.
The two major threats to Sun Bears are habitat loss and commercial hunting. Commercial poaching of bears for the wildlife trade is a considerable threat in most countries. Killing bears is illegal. Motivations for killing bears include: preventing crop damage, subsistence for hunters, exotic food, bush meat, medicinal beliefs, talismans, fear and misunderstanding of bears near villages, and the capture of cubs for pets with the mother often being killed in the process.
The Sumatran Government do have some Sun Bears that have been confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade in their care. However, the facilities are not ideal to adequately meet the specialised needs of the Sun Bear. There is nowhere for Sun Bears to go to for rehabilitation or assessment where specialists can make the decision to release a Sun Bear back into the wild.
We would like to offer Sun Bears that have the potential to cope back in the wild the chance to prove their skills in a safe and monitored environment at our centre. The Sun Bears should have a radio tracking collar and we, the equipment to monitor their behaviours once released, to assess if they are coping. We can put strategies in place if a released Sun Bear fails. Sun Bear cubs spend over two years with their mother learning complex lessons on being a Sun Bear.
Since they eat a variety of foods, including different vegetation based foods, a large variety of insects, pupae and larvae, this is a very extensive process. Cubs learn to stay away from adult male bears, where and how to make nests to sleep in and how to survive in harsh conditions.
Released Sun Bears, especially those who have not had this valuable training, can fall victim to a territorial male Sun Bears. Even with pre-forest evaluation, years of human care, forest walks and radio collar monitoring post-release there is an extremely high failure rate. There are experts working on rehabilitation and release methods for released bears to have the best possible outcomes and this should still be encouraged. It is for this reason that attempts to release confiscated and rescued Sun Bears that do not have sound forest skills or without the correct procedures and experience will most certainly cause death to the Sun Bears, and therefore a safe rescue and conservation centre is needed for Sun bears in Sumatra.
Adult Sun bears that are taken from the forest, or rescued from snares may be perfect candidates to be released. We hope that wild Sun Bears will always be able to survive in the wild.
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