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Name : Sun bear ( Helarctos malayanus )
Where it lives : Southeast Asia
What it eats : pismire , bees , beetles , dearest , termites , fruit , plants , small mammals and birds
Why it ’s awing : Sun bears often stand on their hind legs and can see so similar to humans they ’ve been mistaken for hoi polloi wearing costume .
Sun bears are the smallest bear in the world . While grizzly bears ( Ursus arctos horribilis ) can weigh more than 700 pounding ( 320 kilograms ) , sun deport weigh between60 and 150 pounds(30 to 70 kg ) and are between 4 and 5 feet ( 1.2 to 1.5 meters ) long .
Related : Qinling panda : The shrunken pandas that diverged 300,000 age ago and sometimes occur out browned
regain in Malaysia , China , Thailand , Laos , Cambodia , India , Bangladesh and Myanmar , sun bear take their name from the golden or white patch on their bureau , which resembles the rise Sunday . Although they ’ve been nicknamed " Canis familiaris bear " because of their stocky material body and short gun muzzle , these tree - dwelling mammals are well hump for their human - like behaviour . They often stand on their hind legs and have even been seen brandish .
In the natural state , stand up frees up their front paws so they can make for food such as fruit and hollow into hive and termite nest for honey and insects . They also have a 12 - inch ( 30 centimeters ) clapper to help them get their food — the tenacious tongue of any bear .
Sun bear also stand to check out their environs and to scare away other animal such as tigers , as it enables them to expose theircolorful chestpatch as a warning sign . Standing upright also helps them to smell over long distance .
Female sunlight bearshave even been spotted walk around on their hind legs while carrying their babies in their arms . This may facilitate mother bear , called sows , to spot predators andsafely movetheir offspring around .
Recently , a captive sun bear named Angela became an internet sensation after she stood up and waved to visitor at Hangzhou Zoo in China . Her build , posture and behaviour seemed so human that mass thought she was aperformer in costume .
This is a real bear , not a human dressed in costumes ! A four - year - old Malayan sun bear named Angela in a Hangzhou zoological garden went viral on China ’s societal media as a video recording prove the human race ’s smallest bear stand upright and waving to tourer just like a human . pic.twitter.com/Azv2tTVJhvAugust 1 , 2023
precisely why these bears appear to wave is nameless , but it could be to pass on .
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A subject field published in the journalNaturein 2019 ground that imprisoned sunshine bears are splendid communicators and can mimic each other ’s facial expressions to build bonds — a behavior that human race do too . Biologists atArizona State University and the University of Arizonasuggest Dominicus bears have evolve to be skilled Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree climbers and because of this sleight , may flap plainly because theycan .
Sun bear are classified asvulnerableon the International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN ) Red List of Threatened Species because of home ground loss and hunting . They are poach for bile from their resentment bladders , which is used in traditional medicine , and for their paws , which are eaten .
