What are sun bears used for?
What are sun bears used for?
Like other bears in Asia, Sun bears are hunted for their gall bladders and other body parts for medicinal uses that have been proven by scientist to have no medical value at all. Female nursing sun bears are sometimes killed and their cubs are captured to be sold in the pet trade.
How can we help sun bears?
Sun bears are also the focus of international conservation efforts. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) works with local communities and NGOs to protect vital Sun bear habitat, as well as targeting the trade in bear parts through their TRAFFIC monitoring network.
What is wrong with sun bears?
The IUCN lists sun bears as vulnerable due to a number of factors—farmers kill them when they wreak havoc on their crops, locals kill mother sun bears to sell the cubs as pets, and others are kept as prisoners while their bile is harvested for use in Chinese medicine or sold on the black market.
Do sun bears hurt humans?
Sun bears are shy and reclusive animals, and usually do not attack humans unless provoked to do so, or if they are injured or with their cubs; their timid nature led these bears to be tamed often and kept as pets in the past.
Why is it called Sun Bear?
Found from southern China to eastern India and as far south as Indonesia, sun bears, also called Malayan sun bears, take their name from the bib-shaped golden or white patch on their chest, which legend says represents the rising sun.
What are sun bears adaptations?
With specialised 7.5cm claws on large paws, Sun Bears are wonderfully adapted for life up high. Their enormous curved claws and hairless paws make for exceptional climbing and ripping open trees, bark and rotten logs in search of food.
How many sun bears are left in the world 2020?
Sun Bear Conservation Status and Life Today Sun Bear numbers are still declining and although their exact population numbers are unknown, there could be less than 1,000 individuals left in the wild today.
Where do Sunbears sleep?
They spend a lot of time in tree canopies and even build “beds” of twigs and leaves on the branches to sleep in.
What sound do sun bears make?
Adult bears use a clucking noise, resembling the sound of a hen, which is a typical contact call signaling friendly intent. Aggressive sun bears can bark, growl, and roar, not unlike other bears. Cubs hum while nursing and squawk or cry when in need of their mother’s attention.
Do sun bears have teeth?
The sun bear has all the tools necessary to protect itself. Those claws and canine teeth are handy weapons in a fight. Strong jaws and teeth even help this bear open coconuts! The sun bear’s especially long tongue is perfectly suited for getting at honey and insects inside trees and other tight places.
What does a Sunsun bear eat?
Sun bears are the smallest living bear species, weighing just 35-80 kilograms (75 – 175 pounds). Still, this little omnivore possesses a big appetite, feeding on anything from fruit to termites; from earthworms to eggs, turtles, birds and beetle larvae.
What is a sun bear?
Sun bears are a keystone species. They eat fruit and are very good forest seed dispersers. Photo by Siew Te Wong / BSBCC. They also have cultural value; Sun bears provide opportunities for responsible ecotourism, and “symbolize the wildness of the tropical forest in Southeast Asia”, says Siew Te.
What can be done to save the sun bear?
Others want to eliminate commercial bear farms where bear bile is extracted, and end trafficking by creating strong national legislation, improving enforcement, and raising public awareness. Asia’s Sun bears are Teddy bear cute, but an endangered species little known to the general public.
Why are sun bears hunted?
Like other bears in Asia, Sun bears are hunted for their gall bladders and other body parts for medicinal uses that have been proven by scientist to have no medical value at all. Female nursing sun bears are sometimes killed and their cubs are captured to be sold in the pet trade.
