Sun Bear
Indonesia. Except for females with their
Helarctos malayanus
Its eyes are more
forward-facing than those of
longer-snouted bears like polar
bears.
Its common name comes
from the white or
yellowish crescent
marking on its chest,
which looks like the rising
or setting sun.
Sun bear’s coat is unusually thick
and dense to protect against
twigs, branches, falls, and heavy
rain.
Polar bear Brown bear
The sun bear is the smallest of the
world’s eight bear species. Bornean
sun bear (Helarctus malayanus
eurispylus) is smaller than sumatran
sun bear (Helarctus malayanus
malayanus).
Source: Kawasan Wisata Pendidikan Lingkungan Hidup (KWPLH)
Sun bear is the only bear species in
offspring, sun bear usually solitary. Its
Yayasan Konservasi
Alam Nusantara
diet consists of honey, fruit, berries,
roots, shoots, insects, eggs, frog, and
small birds.
Sun bear has small,
rounded ears.
The sun bear’s jaws
provide a powerful
bite force and are
often used to tear
into trees to get at
the burrowing
insects beneath the
bark. Strong jaws Sun bear has an
and teeth even help extremely long tongue
this bear open compared with its size
coconuts! which ranges from 20 to
25 cm in length and
uses to extract honey or
reach insects.
Sun bear has long, curved
claws. Claws can reach 18
Sun bear is active at
inches in length. They are
night (nocturnal). It
used for climbing, digging of
Sun bear sleeps and sun baths in
food, and protecting itself
trees.
from predators.
Sun bear does not
hibernate like
The sun bear occasionally stands cold-weather bear. Its
upright. But when walking, using all four tropical habitat provides
legs. food sources year-round.
©Koen Setyawan/TNC