Sun Bears (aka Malayan Sun Bears)

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Shining A Light On Sun Bears (aka Malayan Sun Bears, Honey Bears)

Sun Bears or Malayan Sun Bears are the smallest bears in the world. Here I'll share interesting facts, photos, videos and links to bear conservation organizations. As a bear lover, I love this little bear. They are adorable. As with the other bears in the world, we need to find ways to save them. They are hunted by poachers for their fur and their bile is used for Chinese medicine as is the bile from Asiatic Black Bears. (Unbelievable cruelty is done in the name of Chinese medicine. I'll be covering more about that as I continue my research into this horrendous practice.) Read on. See why I love this bear!

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Scientific Classification


Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus: Helarctos
Horsfield 1825
Species: H. malayanus

Binomial name: Helarctos malayanus
(Raffles, 1821)


From Wikipedia

Sun Bears - Just The Facts


Sun Bears, also known as Honey Bears are found primarily in the tropical rain forests of Southeast Asia.

Features
Sun Bears are covered with short black or brown-black fur except for a horseshoe shaped marking on their chests which is orange-yellow in color. This coloring is also around their eyes and their muzzle. This distinctive coloring is where their name "Sun" Bear came from.

They have large paws and their feet turn inward and a short 2 inch tail. Their tongues are thin and long -- usually between 8 to 10 inches -- which is used to suck honey out of beehives. They have flatter teeth with their canine teeth longer and stick out between their lips.

Sun bears have poor eyesight but a keen sense of smell. With 3 inch long claws, they are excellent climbers. They also walk pigeon-toed.

Size
Sun Bears are the smallest bear of the 8 bear species of the world. They are about 4 feet long. The males weigh between 66 and 132 lbs. and the females between 44 and 88 lbs.

What Sun Bears Eat

The Sun Bear's Diet

Sun Bears are omnivorous and feast on small creatures like lizards and birds as well as fruits and berries. They also eat termites, eggs, roots, and honey digging with their long claws. In addition, they use powerful jaw muscles to crack open cocoa nuts and coconuts.

They also use their very long tongues to dig out insects and honey in treees.

In the San Diego zoo, the sun bears are also fed vegetables and peanut butter, mealworms, crickets, and bones to gnaw.

Photo Gallery Slide Show of Sun Bears

My favorite bear photos are by ucumari on Flickr. These are just a few. Click ucumari to see her complete Sun Bear set.


curated content from Flickr
Important!

Conservation Status

Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)


From Wikipedia

WWF - Saving Sun Bears

Contact Ursa Freedom Project to find out what you can do to save the Sun Bear from extinction.

What A Handsome Sun Bear! 

Wonderful Sun Bear Books And Prints On Amazon

Read more about Malayan Sun Bears

Home range, movement and activity patterns, and bedding sites of Malayan sun bears Helarctos malayanus in the Rainforest of Borneo [An article from: Biological Conservation] by S. Te Wong, C.W. Servheen, L. Ambu

Home range, movement and activity patterns, and bedding sites of Malayan sun bears Helarctos malayanus in the Rainforest of Borneo [An article from: Biological Conservation] by S. Te Wong, C.W. Servheen, L. Ambu

This digital document is a journal article from Biological Conservation, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Six Malayan sun bears were captured and radio-collared from June 1999 to December 2001 in Ulu Segama Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo to study home-range characteristics, movement patterns, activity patterns, population de...1 point

Close-up of the Claws of a Malayan Sun Bear Photographic Poster Print by Roy Toft, 36x48

Close-up of the Claws of a Malayan Sun Bear Photographic Poster Print by Roy Toft, 36x48

Close-up of the Claws of a Malayan Sun Bear is digitally printed on archival photographic paper resulting in vivid, pure color and exceptional detail that is suitable for any museum or gallery display. Finding that perfect piece to match your interest and style is easy and within your budget!

0 points

Malayan Sun Bear Photographic Poster Print by Anup Shah, 9x12

Malayan Sun Bear Photographic Poster Print by Anup Shah, 9x12

Malayan Sun Bear is digitally printed on archival photographic paper resulting in vivid, pure color and exceptional detail that is suitable for any museum or gallery display. Finding that perfect piece to match your interest and style is easy and within your budget!

0 points

New YouTube vids

Rare Sun Bear Cub
by SDZoo | video info

46 ratings | 27,616 views
curated content from YouTube

Sun Bear Standing Up 

Articles on Sun Bears

Perhilitan rangers catch pesky sun bear
JELI: Villagers in Kampung Pasir Dusun can sleep easier now that a sun bear, which had been destroying their crops, has been captured.

Wildlife and National Park Department rangers caught the female bear using an iron cage trap recently.
Destination Unknown: Sunny Bears
So feel I should fill you all in a bit more on the animals at the centre other than the wonderful orang-utans. Next in line for me are the Sun Bears - sadly there are only about 10,000 bears remaining in the world which makes them a hell of a lot more vulnerable even than the orang-utans.
Habitat destruction, logging, wildlife trade drive sun bears toward extinction
Industrial logging, large-scale forest conversion for oil palm plantations, and the illegal wildlife trade have left sun bears the rarest species of bear on the planet. Recognizing their dire status, Siew Te Wong, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Montana, is working in Malaysia to save the species from extinction.
Video: rare footage of the sun bear, the world's smallest, making a nest in the canopy
Sun bear expert, Siew Te Wong, has captured rare footage of the world's smallest bear making a nest high in the canopy. The sun bear in the video is a radio-collared individual that Wong is keeping tabs on in Borneo.

Read about the other 7 bear species in the world

These lenses are beary good reading

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Member of Save Our Bears (SOB) Headquarters

Lenses about bears

Save Our Bears is a group of lenses devoted to help change the plight all of the 8 bear species through awareness and fund raising.

The lenses show the wonderful nature of bears and many will, at the same time, shine a spotlight on the dangers bears face including: trophy hunters, gall bladder and bile farming, pollution, bear baiting, global warming, and habitat destruction.

You'll also find fun lenses on great polar bear movies, books, teddy bears, even cartoon and toy bears.

Click Save Our Bears (SOB) to go to the group page.

Sun Bear Cub Up A Tree 

Guest Book For Your Feedback

Please use this guestbook to let me know if something is missing or could be done better. I can't bear to disappoint you!

  • brynimagire Mar 27, 2012 @ 7:56 am | delete
    Woe ! Beautiful bear ! Thanks for sharing.
  • JaguarJulie Dec 28, 2011 @ 11:36 am | delete
    Hello my dear Frankie ... very warm bear hugs to you! Say, did you see that bit on the news about the lady that has bears swinging in her hammocks and trees on her property? Where she demonstrated walking between a momma bear and her cubs??? Whatcha think about all that?
  • GonnaFly Aug 14, 2011 @ 8:48 pm | delete
    You are such a bear expert! This lens has been blessed and added to my animal alphabet lens.
  • hayley May 28, 2011 @ 10:12 pm | delete
    hi i am learning about sun bears because at school i must make a speach about any topic so i picked these bears !!!! any way i was wondering how can we as children help these creatures because i really want to include info like this ???? can anyone help me please ???
  • Frankster May 30, 2011 @ 11:52 am | delete
    The best thing a young person can do is to spread the word about these rare bears. To remind people they are there and to help support some of the organizations working to save these bears such as Bornean Sun Bear Conservation or Ursa Freedom Project. You can also visit the zoos near you that have these bears and give be their voice for them in your local area. Bear hugs, Frankie
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Copyright 2008-2012 Frankie Kangas All rights reserved.


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Frankster

Hi. I'm Frankie Kangas, aka Frankster aka the Bearmeister. I love animals, especially polar bears and cats -- both domestics and big cats. I'm a Calvin... more »

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He's Beary Cute! 

Webkinz Sun Bear July 2011 Release...SOLD OUT by Ganz!!! Limited Available

Amazon Price: $11.88 (as of 06/04/2012)Buy Now

A great gift for anyone or even just to spoil yourself.

Spend some quality time with a Sun Bear! 

Home range, movement and activity patterns, and bedding sites of Malayan sun bears Helarctos malayanus in the Rainforest of Borneo [An article from: Biological Conservation]

Amazon Price: $8.95 (as of 06/04/2012)Buy Now

Amazing read! Do not miss this if you love the Sun Bear.

Beartastic! 

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