The Endangered Species of the Malayan Sun Bears

Species Description

• Adult male sun bears reach up to 4 feet in height while standing on their hind legs and weigh up to 140 lbs. Males are 10 percent to 20 percent percent larger than females. The bear's name originates from the golden U-shaped patch on its chest. Sun bears inhabit the tropical rainforests of Borneo, Burma, Cambodia, southern China, Laos, Malaysia, Sumatra and Vietnam.

Habits and Characteristics

• Sun bears are have long sickle claws, measuring up to 6 inches in length, which enable them to be skillful climbers, climbing coconut and banana palm trees to consume the fruit. Their claws also come in handy when digging for honey and grubs. Like most bears, they are omnivorous and live on a diet of insects, small mammals, birds and fruits. They are nocturnal animals and use their keen sense of smell when foraging during the nights.

Exploitation

• Demand for products derived from the Malayan sun bear constitutes a serious threat to their survival. Traditional Asian medicines, especially in demand in the Chinese market, make use of bear blood, fat, gall, spinal chord, and bones for a variety of medical conditions, including baldness, rheumatism and sexual dysfunction. Dried bear gall is especially profitable, and can sell for as much as 18 times the price of gold, according to the website Bagheera.

Habitat Loss

• The destruction of the Malayan sun bear's habitat is hastening the species toward extinction. Logging of the sun bear's traditional tropical forest habitat, along with the conversion of some areas to agriculture, deprive the species of the environment it has become dependent on. As such, the bears are forced to come into increasing contact with humans to forage for food, which brings them into conflict with farmers and town-dwellers. The bears have been known to visit garbage dumps when devoid of others sources of sustenance, and can be aggressive when disturbed.