Sun Bear

See our sun bear enrichment picture gallery.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

The Malayan sun bear is the smallest member of the bear family. It is also the one with the shortest and sleekest coat - perhaps an adaptation to a lowland equatorial climate.

These animals grow to approximately four and a half feet in length and have a tiny, two-inch tail. Their average weight is less than 100 pounds. The short-haired, deep black or brown-black fur is interrupted on the chest by a pale orange-yellow horseshoe-shaped marking. In folklore, this yellow crescent is said to represent the rising sun and is apparently the origin of the name sun bear.

They have a long narrow tongue which can be extended quite far. The long sickle-shaped claws on all four feet and the large, inward-oriented feet are most reminiscent of the sloth bear. Malayan sun bears are skillful climbers, a useful ability for a species which spends a lot of time climbing trees to get fruit.

DISTRIBUTION and HABITAT:

Although they inhabit both lowlands and highlands, the Sun bears are primarily forest dwellers. They rest and feed in trees in tropical to subtropical regions of Southeast Asia - Borneo, Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, Kampuchea, Vietnam, Laos, Burma, and possibly southern China.

BEHAVIOR:

Relatively low weight, strongly curved claws, and large paws with naked soles help to make the Sun bear an adept climber. It is primarily nocturnal, frequently resting or sunbathing during the day on a platform of broken branches several feet above ground level.

Malayan sun bears sometimes cause a great deal of damage to coconut palms and on cocoa plantations. Young cubs are so lively, playful and attractive that they are often kept as pets in their native lands, but they become treacherously bad-tempered as they grow older.

In zoos, Malayan sun bears often scratch one stone after another out of walls, using their sharp claws.

DIET:

Malayan sun bears are omnivorous. They eat small vertebrates such as lizards and nesting birds and fruit. They are also very fond of honey.

REPRODUCTION and GROWTH:

Sun bears may mate at any time of year; they are thought to have only one mate. Two or three cubs are usually born after a gestation period of 96 days. The young, usually weighing 10-15 ounces each, are suckled for about 18 months. Females reach sexual maturity at about three years and males at four years. These bears live 25 to 28 years in captivity.

HONOLULU ZOO

Scientific Name: Ursidae Helarctos malayanus

Population: Both born in 1975

1 Female:  Ken

1 Male: Jun (1975-2007)

JUN, THE MALE SUN BEAR:

Jun came to the Honolulu Zoo as a cub, from Malaysia in July of 1975 and passed away in early 2007. He was one of the oldest sun bears to have lived in captivity in the world.

He was renown in the zoo world for his ability to produce a viable offspring. The nation's zoo sun bear population is declining, less than sixty, with twice as many females as males, and only one birth since 1995. Jun and his mate Ken, (as in Jun, Ken, Poh) produced a cub, now residing at the Oakland Zoo. This offspring was a significant contribution to the dwindling sun bear population.

He became completely blind due to an eye condition not uncommon to sun bears in captivity. However, he always responded to shapes and movement, especially when stimulated by scents. Smell is the sun bear's most important sense and their eyesight is not very keen even in the young and healthiest of bears.

Web Links:

1. "ADJUSTING TO AMERICAN LIFE", Animal Tracks article with video at http://exn.ca/AnimalTracks/SunBears/Story1.cfm