Care For Us
Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus)
Animal Welfare
Animal welfare refers to an animal’s
state or feelings. An animal’s welfare
state can be positive, neutral or negative.
An animal’s welfare has the potential to
differ on a daily basis. When an animal’s
needs - nutritional, behavioural, health
and environmental - are met, they will
have positive welfare.
A good life in captivity might be one
where animals can consistently
experience good welfare - throughout
their entire life.
Understanding that animals have both
sentient and cognitive abilities as well
as pain perception, reinforces the need
to provide appropriate husbandry
provisions for all captive animals, to
ensure positive welfare.
In captivity, the welfare of an animal is
dependent on the environment
provided for them and the daily care
and veterinary treatment they receive.
The sun bear is found in the tropical
forest habitats of Southeast Asia. They
are the smallest of all the bears and are
characterised by their long tongues –
used to extract food, their strong sense of
smell and very powerful front paws and
long claws which make them very
efficient tree-climbers. Sun bears do not
hibernate due to living in tropical regions
and are primarily diurnal (active in the
day) but can be active at night for short
periods.
Their numbers have declined rapidly in
recent years and they are classified as
Vulnerable by the IUCN, due to large-
scale deforestation and commercial
hunting for the wildlife trade and body
parts.
Sun Bears Like to Dig and Forage
Sun bears have extremely powerful front legs
and long claws. They use these to dig
through rotting logs and deep soil to find
food such as insects, which are an important
protein source for them.
Food foraging takes up a considerable
amount of their time and energy – digging,
smelling and tasting for food within the
forest floor leaf litter, logs and in trees.
Positive Behaviours to Encourage
Provide multiple feeding opportunities
which enable bears to use their powerful
legs to dig and forage for food. This can help
prevent boredom and encourage positive
natural feeding behaviours. Hide food in
rotting logs, leaf litters and provide deep
substrate for digging.
Sun Bears Like to
Climb
Large paws, naked soles and long
curved claws mean sun bears are
very good and speedy climbers. They
will climb trees to search for fruit or
other food and sleep and spend a lot
of their time high up in the trees.
Positive Behaviours to
Encourage
Providing multiple elevated
platforms and climbing poles and
trees for sun bears to climb, is vital
for their health and welfare. Natural
trees will be more durable, but man-
made platforms can provide different
opportunities for feeding and
sleeping.
Flickr@John Morton
Sun Bears are Intelligent
Sun bears are solitary animals and share a
habitat with predators such as tigers and
pythons. Their survival is dependent on
them being able to create safe nests in
trees and finding insects, fruits and other
foods within the tropical forests. They can
tear open trees with their claws to get to
insects and break open rotting wood using
their strong sense of smell to find food.
Positive Behaviours to Encourage
Provide an interesting, species-specific,
natural enclosure. Soft substrate, large
areas, elevated platforms and trees will
encourage positive behaviours. Regular
environmental enrichment such as scents
and artificial objects that encourage
natural behaviours can make the enclosure
stimulating. Flickr@Tambako The Jaguar
Sun Bears Like to Sleep
Sun bears will climb trees to rest in branches
or build nests that are safe from predators
below. They will also bed either in or
underneath fallen hollow logs, and use leaf
litter for soft bedding.
Positive Behaviours to Encourage
Providing multiple trees and platforms for
all sun bears in captivity will provide a safe
and natural environment. Providing dens
and areas away from public viewing for the
bears to rest in will allow bears to sleep
without stress.
Flickr@Tambako The Jaguar
Sun Bears Like to Eat a
Varied Diet
Sun bears are omnivores, feeding on insects
such as termites and beetles and eating a
large variety of fruits, particularly figs if
available. They use their tongues to lick
content out. They use their strong jaws and
paws to eat food and also detect food using
their amazing sense of smell.
Positive Behaviours to Encourage
Providing a varied diet of fruit and insects
in captivity will ensure the food is
nutritional and interesting. Treat foods,
such as honey can be hidden in logs and
around the enclosure to encourage foraging
behaviours.
Sun Bears will Groom and
Socialise
Sun bears will spend a lot of time grooming
themselves. They generally focus on their paws
because they are important tools for climbing,
digging, and eating. Bears are usually solitary
but come together during the mating season or
when a mother is with her cub.
Positive Behaviours to Encourage
Sun bears can be kept together in captivity as
food is not in limited supply. But enough food
and different feeding opportunities and
stations must be provided to avoid any
competition between individuals.
Flickr@Kabacchi
Sun Bears Enjoy…
Eating different and interesting
foods. They enjoy sleeping on soft
substrate and using their bodies to
climb, groom and find food.
In captivity we should always try and
replicate their natural and normal
behaviours, so they are happy and
healthy throughout their lives.
