A sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), showing its long tongue, at Rare Species Conservation Centre, Sandwich, Kent
The sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) is a bear found in tropical forest habitats of Southeast Asia. It is classified as Vulnerable by IUCN as the large-scale deforestation that has occurred throughout Southeast Asia over the past three decades has dramatically reduced suitable habitat for the sun bear. The global population is thought to have declined by more than 30% over the past three bear generations. The Malayan sun bear is also known as the "honey bear", which refers to its voracious appetite for honeycombs and honey. However, "honey bear" can also refer to a kinkajou, which is an unrelated member of the Procyonidae. The sun bear's fur is usually jet-black, short, and sleek with some under-wool; some individual sun bears are reddish or gray. Two whirls occur on the shoulders, from where the hair radiates in all directions. A crest is seen on the sides of the neck and a whorl occurs in the centre of the breast patch. Always, a more or less crescent-shaped pale patch is found on the breast that varies individually in colour ranging from buff, cream, or dirty white to ochreous. The skin is naked on the upper lip. The tongue is long and protrusible. The ears are small and round, broad at the base, and capable of very little movement. The front legs are somewhat bowed with the paws turned inwards, and the claws are cream. The sun bear is the smallest of the bears. Adults are about 120–150 cm (47–59 in) long and weigh 27–80 kg (60–176 lb). Males are 10–20% larger than females. The muzzle is short and light coloured, and in most cases the white area extends above the eyes. The paws are large, and the soles are naked, which is thought to be an adaptation for climbing trees. The claws are large, curved, and pointed. They are sickle-shaped; the front paw claws are long and heavy. The tail is 30–70 mm (– in) long. During feeding, the sun bear can extend the exceptionally long tongue 20–25 cm (– in) to extract insects and honey.
Size: 4442px × 3744px
Location: Rare Species Conservation Centre, Bellars Bush, A256 Dover Road Roundabout, CT13 0DG Sandwich, Kent
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: animal, asia, bear, bile, captive-breeding, centre, conservation, extirpated, forest, habitat, helarctos, hunting, kent, long, loss, malayanus, mammal, omnivorous, poaching, program, rare, sandwich, southeast, species, sun, threat, tongue, trade, tropical, ursidae, vulnerable
