AT THE ZOO. They spend nearly one-fourth of their day in sleeping.
Newborn cubs weigh up to 280–325 g. The cubs will not reach maturity until they become 3 – 4 years of age. The tail itself is 3 to 7 cm (1.2 to 2.7 in). Sun bears will find hollow logs, cavities, tree roots, and fallen logs to relax. As well as being hunted in the wild, sun bears are also held in captivity for bile extraction. They weigh from 27 to 80 kg (60–176 lb).
Adults are about 70 cm (27 in) at the shoulder and are 120 to 150 cm (47–59 in) from head to tail. They are highly social animals. Sun bears grow to only about half the size of an American black bear. [8] [35] [36] The sun bear is an excellent climber; it sunbathes or sleeps in trees 2 … The lifespan is about 25 years in the wild and up to 30 years in captivity. Sun bears are the smallest and rarest of the bear species and are found in the lowland forests of Southeast Asia. The sun bear is, by nature, a long-living animal. Our very first sun bear arrived in 1928, and it was quite an accomplishment for a young zoo in a small city to obtain such a rare bear! Their snout is cream coloured and relatively short and their claws are long (around 10 cm). Sun bears do sniff the urine and feces of other sun bears and appear to get some chemical information from these “messages.” However, sun bears are not known to engage in anogenital scent marking like their distant relative, the giant panda. The female gives birth to 1 – 2 cubs after a gestation period of 95 to 174 days.
Sun bears lead the most arboreal (tree-living) lifestyle among all bears. Over 10,000 are kept in cages on bile farms in China and subject to the cruel process of bile extraction, leading to infection and disease. Animals Asia is one organisation that campaigns for end to bile farming. The sun bear is the smallest of the world’s eight bear species. They have short black to dark brown fur with a golden crescent on the chest from which they take their name. [3] [34] They are mainly active during the day, though nocturnality might be more common in areas frequented by humans.