Biologi & Ekologieng
Habitat. In mainland South-east Asia, where there is a prolonged dry season, Sun Bears inhabit semi-evergreen, mixed deciduous, dry dipterocarp, and montane evergreen forest, largely sympatric with Asiatic Black Bears. In Borneo, Sumatra, and peninsular Malaysia, areas with high rainfall throughout the year, they inhabit mainly tropical evergreen dipterocarp rainforest and peat swamps. They also use mangrove forest and oil palm plantations in proximity to other, more favored habitats. They occur from near sea level to over 2100 m elevation, but are most common in lower elevation forests.
Sumber: Ursidae
Biologi & Ekologieng
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Home range information is very limited. Two males radio-tracked for about one year in Borneo during a fruiting failure had minimum known ranges of 15 - 20 km? (butlikely ranged beyond this); one of them centered his activity on a garbage dump. Two Bornean females living in a small, isolated forest patch (100 km? more than half of which had been burned in a forest fire and was rarely used by Sun Bears) had home ranges of only about 4 km ®. Most sightings have been ofsolitary bears or mothers with a cub, but gatherings of multiple bears have been witnessed at rich feeding sites.
Sumber: Ursidae
Konservasieng
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I. Listed as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. Although quantitative estimates of population sizes and trends are lacking, rates of habitat loss and degradation, combined with persistent poaching, indicate that the global population ofthis species has declined by more than 30 % during the past three decades. Additionally, it is strictly protected under national wildlife laws throughout its range; however, there is generally insufficient enforcement of these laws. None of the eleven countries where the Sun Bear occurs has implemented any conservation measures specifically for this species. Commercial poaching, especially for gall bladders (used in traditional Chinese medicine) and paws (a delicacy), is a considerable threat, especially in mainland South-east Asia. Local hunters in one area of Thailand estimated that commercial poaching reduced the abundance of Sun Bears by 50 % in 20 years. In Malaysia and Indonesia, deforestation is the prime threat. Clear-cutting to expand oil palm (Elaeis guineenis) plantations (which is likely to worsen with increased biofuel production) and unsustainable logging (both legal and illegal) are escalating at alarming rates. Prolonged droughts, spurring natural and human-caused fires, are compounding the habitat-loss problem, resulting in diminished availability of food and space for bears, sometimes causing their starvation. Where bears do not die directly from food scarcity, they seek out agricultural crops adjacent to the forest, and are poisoned or trapped and killed by local people. Some headway has been made in establishing buffer zones around protected forested areas, educating local people on nonlethal deterrents, and increasing communication between local people and sanctuary managers, resulting in shared problem solving.
Sumber: Ursidae
Deskripsieng
Descriptive notes. Head-body 100 - 150 cm, tail 3 - 7 cm; weight 30 - 80 kg. Males are heavier than females, but the degree of sexual dimorphism (10 - 20 %) is less than most other bears. The Bornean subspeciesis notably smaller, with a maximum weight of 65 kg. The body is stocky, and compared to other bears, the front legs more bowed, front feet turned more inward, muzzle shortened, ears especially small, and hair very short, often with obvious whorls. Coat coloris black or less commonly dark brown, typically with a prominent white, yellow, or orange chest marking. The chest marking is highly variable among individuals, usually a U or circular shape, but occasionally more amorphous, and sometimes with dark patches or spots. The bear takes its common name from this marking, which may look like a sun. The muzzle is pale, and the forehead may be wrinkled. The exceptionally long tongue (20 - 25 cm) is used for feeding on insects and honey. The canine teeth, which are particularly large in relation to the head, and the large front feet with long claws, are used for breaking into wood (e. g. to prey on stingless bees) and termite colonies. Soles of the feet have little hair.
Sumber: Ursidae
Distribusieng
Subspecies and Distribution. H. m. malayanus Raffles, 1822 — Bangladesh, NE India, and S China (Yunnan) through SE Asia to Malaysia, and Sumatra. H. m. euryspilus Horsfield, 1825 — Borneo.
Sumber: Ursidae
Distribusieng
Distribution: Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and possibly in China. In Myanmar, recorded in Kachin State (Hkakaborazi NP, Hponkanrazi and Hukaung Valley WS and Proposed Imawbum NP), Rakhine State (Rakhine Yoma Elephant Range WS), Sagaing Region (Htamanthi WS and Alaungdawkathapa NP), Kayin State and Tanintharyi Region (Htaung Pru RF, Tanintharyi Nature Reserve and Proposed Lenya NP).
Sumber: Mammals of Myanmar: an annotated checklist
