Yapping about my favorite bears 3

I've returned once again to talk about my big puppies :]

Today's guest is...quite special. He's the type of guy you either adore or despise nothing in between, that's right, its the sun bear !

Considered the rarest bear species out of eight spectacular babies, these bears reside in the forests and lowlands of southeast Asia, they're recognised to be in a vulnerable state due to habitat loss and poaching (for their cubs).

They're the smallest in the bear family, weighing between 25 - 75 Kg on average, but they do live a long life! The oldest recorded sun bear in captivity was Hoho, who lived 35 years and died on 2024 :)

But why are they named sun bears you may ask? Well, sun bears possess a unique marking on their chest that was described to look like the rising sun, and that's how they got their name !

Each individual sun bear has one that's uniquely his, just like a fingerprint, while the reason of this marking being developed is still unknown, its theorised that sun bears use it to recognise each other when they cross territories !

They have also developed a long tongue that helps them dig into termite and ant colonies, their tongues can reach to 30cm in length

Another unique trait that freaks people out is their loose skin, surprisingly, it plays a very big role in defending themselves, this skin of skin can almost move independently from the underlying muscles, which allows them to manipulate their movement and reach their attacker even if it's standing right behind them.

Their claws are thicker than most, because the primary purpose of those sharp tools is not to hunt, but climb trees !

In fact, sun bears are one of the few species that spend their time mostly in trees, they're actually the only ones who are so smooth at climbing anyway...

Not info but i need go share how ridiculously their cubs look

These guys are actually also considered scary because theyre the only species that can stay on its hind legs for a long time, matter of fact, some of them have adapted to mostly walk on hind legs, there's been reports where some people confuse them for "demons carrying fruits at night"

They've recently become a meme on the Internet for that exact reason, many people call them middle aged men in bear suits, there's was a scene a few years ago where a zoo got reported for having sun bears and thr visitors thought they were hiring people to impersonate black bears...