Sun bears: The smallest and rarest bears of bear on Earth
Imagine you are on a vacation, strolling through the jungles of northeast India when a bear with a big golden sunny patch of fur on its chest comes out of nowhere and stands beside you. You remain motionless, and mostly in terror. He sniffs and then opens his mouth as a nearly ten-inch-long tongue rolls out! Maneuvering the massive tongue around a log lying right next to your foot, the bear slurps up the tasty insects that crawl beneath until his belly is full and walks away. Do you know what bear you just encountered? Well, that’s the honey bear or sunny bear, the smallest and rarest species of bear in the world.
The name sun bear comes from the golden patches of fur on its chest. Actually, it resembles a rising sun. Sun bears may have extra-long tongues but they are the smallest of the eight bear species in the world. Adults grow up to 5 feet long and weigh 25-65kg — only half the size of an adult American black bear.
Small and mighty
Where will you find sun bears? Mostly in the lower-elevation forests of southeast Asia. Ever heard of a bear building its own tree bed to sleep on? Well, sun bears do. They spend a lot of time in tree canopies and build "beds" of twigs and leaves on the branches to sleep in. That’s because, unlike other bear species, sun bears are strong, agile and good at climbing trees. Despite their small size, sun bears have all the tools necessary to protect themselves. Their claws and canine teeth come handy in any fight. Even though the sun bear lives in a hot and humid climate, its dark-brown coat is unusually thick and dense to protect it against twigs, branches and heavy rain. They also have an incredible sense of smell, thought to be several thousand times better than that of humans.
What do sun bears eat?
These small bears are also called honey bears because of their love for honey. They chow down insects, leaves, lizards, and berries but their favourite snack is honey. And it’s all fun for them to rip apart a beehive with their sharp claws. They use their super long tongues to extract the honey inside while gobbling the sweet treat. Their strong jaws and teeth even help these bears open coconuts as well!
The dwindling population of sun bears
These bears are hunted for their gallbladders and other body parts for medicinal use and the young cubs sometimes for pet trade. They are also hunted at other times because of their habit of raiding crops and attacking livestock. Their appetite for oil palm and other commercial crops has led to a lot of trouble between sun bears and humans. Sun bears are walking a survival tightrope. Their population has fast been dwindling and it has mostly disappeared in recent decades.