Animal Facts - Sun Bear
Sun Bear Habits and Biology
Sun Bears are shy and intelligent.
They are very good at climbing trees and using branches and twigs to make resting platforms high off the ground.
They are nocturnal, meaning they rest during the day and hunt for food during the night.
Their eyesight is poor, but they have a very good sense of smell and use their noses to hunt in the dark.
Scientists think these bears are monogamous, meaning they stay with the same mate for life.
They can mate at any time of year and the female makes a nest on the ground.
After 96 days one to three cubs are born, weighing about 325 grams (11 ounces) each.
The cubs stay in the nest for two months, drinking the mother’s milk. They start eating other food at about four months, but still drink the milk until they are 18 months old.
The young cubs live with their mother for two years or more and are very playful. Mothers have been seen carrying a cub in their front paws while walking on their hind legs. This is unusual behaviour for bears.
Scientists do not yet know how long Sun Bears live in the wild.
In zoos they live to about 25 to 28 years of age.