Sun bear
| Sun bear | ||||||||||||
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Sun bear |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Helarctos | ||||||||||||
| Horsfield , 1825 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Helarctos malayanus | ||||||||||||
| ( Raffles , 1821) |
The sun bear (usually Helarctos malayanus , sometimes Ursus malayanus ), also known as the sun bear , is a species of predator from the bear family (Ursidae). He lives in Southeast Asia and is the smallest representative of his family, best adapted to a tree-dwelling way of life.
description
Sun bears have short-haired, black fur with a whitish or yellowish, crescent-shaped patch on their chest. The short snout is quite light, yellowish or orange in color, which often extends beyond the eyes. Characteristic for this species are the long tongue, the small and round ears, the large, curved and pointed claws and the bare soles of the paws, which are adaptations to the climbing way of life.
An adult animal reaches a body length of around 100 to 140 centimeters and a shoulder height of 70 centimeters, the tail is a 3 to 7 centimeter long stub. The weight varies between 27 and 65 kilograms, with the males being significantly heavier than the females.
distribution
The distribution area of the sun bear stretches from eastern India ( Assam ) and southern China ( Sichuan and Yunnan ) through Indochina and the Malay Peninsula to the islands of Sumatra and Borneo .
habitat
On Sumatra, Borneo and the Malay Peninsula, tropical rainforests are the typical habitat. However, they also inhabit swamps and mangrove forests . In the remaining part of the distribution area on the Asian mainland, the sun bear also inhabits semi-evergreen forests, dry forests and mountain forests. In the north, the distribution area overlaps with that of the collar bear . In contrast to the collar bear, the animals prefer lower altitudes, although they can advance up to 2,100 m.
Way of life
Sun bears are nocturnal, during the day they sleep in the trees, around 2 to 7 meters above the ground. They break or bend branches in order to build a nest or a viewing platform from them, and sometimes you can watch them sunbathing. Like all bears, they move on the ground as sole walkers, turning their feet inward.
Little is known about their social behavior, like all bears they live solitary. A behavioral study revealed complex non-verbal communication among sun bears. The fact that individuals change their facial expressions when they are looked at by conspecifics has previously only been observed in dogs and primates . Unlike many other bear species, they do not hibernate as they live in tropical areas and their food sources are available all year round.
food
Sun bears are omnivores , with insects and other invertebrates making up the main part of their diet. They tear down the tree bark with their claws in order to reach bees and other tree-dwelling animals as well as their honey . Even termites are often consumed to this end, they break the Build up and maintain the front paws into it alternately. As soon as enough prey animals have climbed on it, they lick off their paws. In addition, fruits make up a large part of the diet. They also seldom eat small vertebrates such as rodents , birds and lizards and sometimes carrion .
Reproduction
Mating can take place all year round. The gestation period is around 95 days, however, like other bears, the fertilized egg can delay implantation in the uterus , so that 240 days can pass between mating and birth. Usually one or two young animals weighing around 325 grams are born; they are blind, naked and helpless. They stay with their mother until they are fully grown, and they reach sexual maturity at around three years of age. The maximum age for an animal in human care was 31 years.
Hazard and protection
Since these animals can cause considerable damage to coconut palms and other plantations, they are hunted. Certain parts of the body, especially the bile , are ascribed healing powers , as in the collar bear . In East Asia, young animals are often made into pets; as soon as they are fully grown, they are slaughtered in order to get to the usable body parts. Another threat is the loss of their habitat through extensive deforestation.
For these reasons, the population of the sun bear is declining, but it is unclear to what extent. In India they are believed to be extinct, in China they are threatened with extinction. In many Southeast Asian countries, no information is available on population size.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN lists the species in its Red List of Endangered Species as 
(= Vulnerable - endangered).
The sun bear is listed in Appendix I of the Washington Convention on CITES for the protection of species . It is seen as an immediately threatened species and is subject to a general trade ban.
In 2008, the zoo database ISIS registered 91 sun bears in scientifically managed zoological gardens worldwide, 33 of them in Europe. In 2008 there was only one birth at Perth Zoo, Australia. There is a European conservation breeding program for the sun bear . The European Stud Book is kept by the Cologne Zoological Garden . On Sumatra , Cologne Zoo and WWF support the national park in the rainforest of Tesso Nilo , where sun bears are still relatively common.
Systematics
The systematic classification of the sun bear is controversial. While some classification systems classify him in the genus Ursus (which also includes baribal , brown , polar and collar bears ), he is usually in its own genus, Helarctos .
There are two subspecies. H. m. malayanus from Sumatra and the Southeast Asian mainland and the somewhat smaller form H. m. eurypsilus from Borneo.
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
- DE Wilson, DM Reeder: Mammal Species of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
- DL Garshelis: Family Ursidae (Bears) . In: DE Wilson, RA Mittermeier (ed.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores. Lynx Edicions, 2009, ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1 , pp. 448-497
Web links
- Helarctos malayanus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2011. Retrieved on August 9, 2011th
- Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) in the WWF species lexicon
- virtualzoo data sheet from WAZA
- IUCN / SSC Bear Specialist Group - International Association for Bear Research and Management (April 2008)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Garshelis, 2009. (p. 488f.)
- ↑ Marina Davila-Ross, Siew Te Wong, Guillaume Dezecache, Daniela Hartmann, Derry Taylor: Facial Complexity in Sun Bears: Exact Facial Mimicry and Social Sensitivity . In: Scientific Reports . tape 9 , no. 1 , March 21, 2019, ISSN 2045-2322 , p. 4961 , doi : 10.1038 / s41598-019-39932-6 ( nature.com [accessed March 22, 2019]).
- ^ The CITES Appendices. CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, accessed on January 23, 2010 (English, The Appendixes of the Washington Convention on the Protection of Species, CITES).