Sunday, July 20, 2014

Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus)

 Cupcake
 Cupcake
 Sun Bears
 Hoho
Cupcake (left) Hoho (right)

Cupcake and Hoho can be naturally found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. They significantly look and act different from our other bears. These two are more arboreal bears, which mean they like to climb in trees. Their bodies are a lot smaller and have a tendency to have much longer claws. These physical characteristics help them climb around in trees better.  While they are up in the trees, this is how they are also commonly known as, “honey bears” because they have quite the appetite for honeycombs and honey.  This may ring another bell for a bear celebrity that loves honey, Winnie the Pooh.  However, they are not the same species.

Bear feeding with these two is very fun, especially with Hoho’s participation. He likes to climb as high as he can in the tree and likes to catch his food.  Despite how high Hoho is off the ground, he always keeps a good arm around a branch in case he misses catching the fruits and vegetables we toss for him. Cupcake is not as adventurous as Hoho and would rather eat off the ground.

When people often think of bears, one of the main behavior characteristics that bears commonly do is hibernate. For sun bears, they actually do not hibernate. However, they sure do like their afternoon naps after we are done cleaning their areas. Every once in a while though, Cupcake and Hoho are up and Hoho will sometimes give us a wave to let us know he is there. J

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