The post Why the Rare Sun Bear’s ‘Necklace’ Isn’t Just Beautiful—It’s a Survival Tool appeared first on A-Z Animals.
Tattoos can be silly, sentimental, or meaningful, and they always convey something about the person to others. In the same way, one member of the animal kingdom has a special marking that is totally unique, not to mention beautiful. The creature in question is the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), which is born with a marking around its neck that looks like a gorgeous yellow/orange necklace.
YouTuber Cam Whitnall, who lives and works at his family’s zoo and sanctuary, Hertfordshire Zoo and The Big Cat Sanctuary in the UK, shared a video of a sun bear. In it, you can see a bear walking toward the camera with its black fur and orange nose. When it stands up, the sun bear reveals its beautiful orange fur under its neck, which is connected in the middle, resembling a statement necklace.
People in the comments couldn’t resist this cute bear. “He’s looking like he’s in the grocery store. ‘I swear they never have the organic honey,’” one person quipped. Someone else wrote, “That bear is gorgeous. Never knew a bear like this existed.”
“This is one of the most beautiful creatures I’ve ever seen,” another person said. We couldn’t agree more! But it’s not just about beauty. The sun bear’s markings exist for a beneficial purpose that helps them survive in the wild.
Why Sun Bears Have Neck Markings
Sun bears have distinct neck markings that serve a variety of purposes, from helping bears recognize each other to warning potential predators.
©Molly NZ/Shutterstock.com
Sun bears are about 3.5 to 4.5 feet long and weigh anywhere from 60 to 145 pounds. Short, sleek fur in black, dark brown, or grey covers most of the sun bear’s body, except for their chest marking in white, yellow, or orange. It can be U-shaped like in the video, or resemble other shapes like crescents or circles.
A 2020 study by the International Association for Bear Research and Management looked at sun bears in the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre and the Free the Bears sanctuary. The researchers found that the most common types of sun bear chest marks were U- and V-shaped, with no differences in shape patterns by sex. They also found that the chest mark shape did not change over the years for the same bear, although the quantity of dark dots in the chest markings increased with age, much like age spots in humans. Because the markings were unique, researchers believe that sun bears may be able to recognize each other and quickly determine another sun bear’s age and health depending on their chest markings.
The chest markings might also serve as a warning to other animals. When the sun bear walks around, its black fur can camouflage it. However, researchers noticed that sun bears always stand up when they sense another animal nearby, making their bright chest pattern immediately visible to passersby.
Another Notable Feature
Sun bears are also known as honey bears due to their love of honey.
©Vladimir Wrangel/Shutterstock.com
If the sun bear’s chest marking doesn’t scare away potential predators (like tigers or other large, carnivorous animals), then another trait can help them escape: their loose skin. The sun bear’s stretchy skin allows them to spin their head around to bite their attacker, even if another animal has caught them with a tight grip.
Where Sun Bears Live
Sun bears are the smallest species of bears in the world, living in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. They have been found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, in the forests on the mainland in Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, and in some remote areas of eastern India and southern China.
One reason sun bears are so unique is that they live a tree-dwelling life, where they sleep in a nest in a canopy high up above the ground. They climb trees quickly with their curved claws and strong teeth. They also have a long tongue measuring up to 25 centimeters long, which allows them to break open logs to feed on termites or extract honey from inside nests and crevices. This is why the sun bear is also known as the honey bear.
Sun Bears Face Very Real Threats
The population of the rare sun bear is dwindling due to habitat loss and illegal hunting.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species classifies the sun bear as vulnerable. Some scientists estimated there are around 1,000 left in the wild. The population number is not exact, due to the bears’ elusive nature, although experts believe that the population of this bear has declined more than 30% in the last 30 years, per San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.
Because sun bears enjoy fruit, nuts, plants, insects, grubs, honey, eggs, rodents, and shoots, they often invade farmers’ crops or raid oil palms. Because of this, sun bears are often targeted by upset farmers. They have also been the subject of illegal hunting as people look for them to use their body parts, like their gallbladder, to make medicine, or to be captured and sold in the exotic pet market. They are also in danger due to habitat loss from deforestation.
Sun bears are truly unique animals, and videos like this one help spread awareness about these sweet, tree-dwelling creatures.
The post Why the Rare Sun Bear’s ‘Necklace’ Isn’t Just Beautiful—It’s a Survival Tool appeared first on A-Z Animals.