A miniature but formidable predator. Biruang is the name of the smallest bear in the world. He is also the rarest bear on the planet.
The unusual animal is also called the Malayan or sun bear. And he really is the smallest representative of the bear family. The height of the clubfoot is no more than one and a half meters, but its weight varies from 25 kilograms to 65 kilograms. However, even despite such small dimensions, the biruang is considered one of the most ferocious bears in the world, if not the most aggressive. However, this opinion exists only in Western countries. And in Asia, for example, the sun bear is called not dangerous. Moreover, the bear is tamed and sometimes kept as a pet.
The smallest bears in the world, like dogs, are quite easy to train. And only mother bears protecting their cubs pose a danger to people. It is worth avoiding angry individuals. If the beast is provoked to attack, then they are truly fearless and fight with all their might, not for life or death, trying to defeat the enemy at any cost.
The smallest bears in the world are dart frogs
Sun bears have rather large, sickle-shaped claws. The animals have huge paws with completely bare soles. It is this fact that helps biruangs to climb trees well. Of all the bears, it is the smallest bears in the world who love trees the most. Therefore, they are sometimes also called "basindo nan tenggil", which literally means "one who likes to sit high." Biruangas are predominantly nocturnal animals, so individuals can sleep the whole day or lie on convenient tree branches. At a height, they also build themselves something similar to a nest and, without leaving the “house,” feed on fruits and leaves. It is worth noting an interesting fact - Malayan bears never hibernate.Sun bears are omnivores. But, as a rule, they feed on earthworms, insects, fruits, shoots and rhizomes of various plants. A distinctive feature of the Biruang is its unusually long tongue. It reaches 20-25 centimeters. This part of the body is very sticky and thin. And she helps the bear get his favorite treat - honey from the hives. Hence another name for the smallest bear in the world - “honey bear”. By the way, the animal does not mind eating not only honey, but also bees. Sometimes biruangs also absorb birds, lizards and small mammals. The powerful jaws of the individuals help to easily bite even coconuts.
Malayan bears are found in southern China, northeast India, Thailand, Myanmar, as well as on the island of Borneo, the Indochina Peninsula and Indonesia.
Biruangs are playing
The miniature bear differs from its relatives not only in its amazingly long tongue. The biruang's fur is stiffer, shorter and smoother. And this is explained by the fact that the animal lives in a fairly warm climate. The color of the sun bear is black, and there is a large light spot on its chest. It looks like a horseshoe and is shaped like the rising sun. And from here came the name of the entire genus of small bears - “Helarctos”. The first part of the word is translated as sun, and the second – bear. All together it turns out to be a sun bear.
Biruangs live up to 25 years, but this is in captivity. But in the wild, the smallest bear in the world, its life and habits have been studied quite poorly. However, we can say with confidence that under human care these animals live much longer.
Truly a clubfoot!
Teddy bear is a phrase that everyone knows from childhood, biruang makes it true. Scientists have noted the interesting gait of the Malayan bear. All four paws turn inward when walking. But the sun bear's vision is not so good. But poor vision is compensated by an excellent sense of smell and hearing.Enemies of the little bear
The main enemy of the sun bear has always been and remains man. Biruangs easily defeat almost any predator. They, as they said, are very strong in battle, so the neighbors in the forest prefer to give the baby a wide berth. But sometimes conflicts with leopards and tigers still occur. The largest predators try to grab their opponent by the throat. But bears can avoid such an attack, because they have very loose skin on their necks, which allows the biruang to “slip out” from the mouth of a leopard or tiger and strike back with a crushing blow. 
But leaving a person is not so easy. Humans have already caused almost irreparable damage to the population of the world's smallest bears. Even five thousand years ago, Chinese people used bear bile for medicinal purposes - to treat bacterial infections. Now the situation has not changed. But on the island of Borneo, animal fur is used to sew hats. Trophy hunting for the Malayan bear is also popular among people. Farmers shoot the animal for the simple reason that the clubfoot is capable of causing damage to coconut and banana plantations. It is for these reasons that biruangs are now the rarest species of bear. They are listed in the International Red Book. However, the number of Malayan bears is only decreasing every year.
Touching predator
One way or another, Malayan bears can be called shy and timid. They usually prefer to avoid a person, not show themselves to him, and generally stay away from him. But in Asia, a tamed biruang is not a rare sight. The animal can calmly walk around the owner’s house without supervision and play with interest with the children. By the way, Malayan bears are very smart. There is a story about a certain bear who once surprised his owners. The animal did not eat the rice offered to him, but scattered it on the ground, sat down next to him and began to wait for something. A little later, the birds came to dine on rice, and the cunning Biruang dined on the birds.Curiously, the mating season of the biruang is not limited to one season. Mating of the smallest bears in the world can occur throughout the year. After a 95-day pregnancy, the female gives birth to 1-2 cubs, sometimes three. Blind, naked and helpless newborns weigh approximately 300 grams. They remain under the protection of their mother for up to 2.5 years.
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intermediate ranks
Helarctos malayanus Raffles,
- Ursus malayanus
Raffles 1821 - Helarctos euryspilus
Horsfield, 1826
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Horsfield, 1825 - Helarctos malayanus malayanus
(Raffles 1821)
Modern
In past
Presence uncertain
| Taxonomy on Wikispecies | Images on Wikimedia Commons |
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Malayan bear, or biruang(lat. Helarctos malayanus), - a species of mammals from the bear family, which is the only species of the monotypic genus malayan bears.
Appearance
A Malayan bear at Shanghai Zoo shows off its jaws
The Malayan bear is the smallest representative of the bear family: it does not exceed 1.5 m in length (plus a 3-7 cm tail), the height at the withers is only 50-70 cm; weight 27-65 kg. Males are 10-20% larger than females. It is a stocky, strong animal with a short and wide muzzle. The ears are short and rounded. The limbs are high with disproportionately large paws; the claws are very large, curved. Feet are bare. The fangs are small; The molars are small and flattened.
The biruang's fur is short, stiff and smooth. The color is black, on the face it turns into roan-yellow. Sometimes the limbs are also light brown. On the chest there is usually a large whitish or red spot in the shape of a horseshoe, reminiscent in shape and color of the rising sun (hence the scientific name of the genus - Helarctos, "sun bear").
Spreading
Biruang is distributed from northeastern India (Assam) and possibly southern China (Sichuan) through Myanmar, Thailand, the Indochina and Malacca peninsulas to Indonesia (Sumatra and Kalimantan). A subspecies lives on the island of Kalimantan Helarctos malayanus euryspilus.
Captive
This type of bear is kept and bred in bear bile extraction farms.
Lifestyle and nutrition
This bear lives in the tropical and subtropical forests of the foothills and mountains of Southeast Asia. It is well adapted to climbing trees and, being a nocturnal animal, often sleeps all day or sunbathes in the branches of trees, where it builds a kind of nest for itself [ ] . Here he feeds on leaves and fruits, breaking branches as a Himalayan bear does. Does not hibernate.
Biruang is omnivorous. It feeds mainly on insects (bees, termites) and earthworms, as well as shoots, rhizomes and fruits of plants. The long thin tongue helps the biruang to extract termites from nests and honey. In addition, biruangs eat small rodents, birds and lizards, as well as carrion left over from tigers' meals. In densely populated areas, it can rummage through garbage, attack livestock and destroy plantations (bananas, coconut palms). Powerful jaws allow it to crack coconuts.
Despite its small weight, on average about 45 kg, it is a rather dangerous and aggressive predator that is able to successfully defend itself even from a tiger. Other recorded natural enemies of the Malayan bear include crocodiles, clouded leopards, and very large reticulated pythons.
Greetings, dear readers of the site “I and the World”! Today you will learn about the largest bears in the world: their habits and habitat, which specimens are very dangerous and which are quite harmless. But, in any case, it is undesirable to meet with them; the outcome of this meeting is unlikely to be in your favor.
From Russian fairy tales we know about bears as clumsy and stupid animals. Because of their weight, they really seem slow, but this is not so, they can reach such speed that it is difficult to escape from them even on a bicycle. You should get to know them better in order to know what to expect from them if you meet them by chance while traveling around the world, as well as: what they look like, how much they weigh, where they live, etc.
And our rating opens with “Black Bear” or Baribal
His black coat glistens in the sun of the USA and Canada. Less common in northern Mexico. It is in these countries that this animal lives and weighs from 300 to 360 kg.
The largest male is 363 kg. It was killed in Canada - this is the largest Baribal ever caught by man. The animals are quite harmless. They do not attack people or domestic animals and live quietly and peacefully, eating plant foods and fish.
Very rarely, when there is not enough food, Baribal can drag off livestock. With a height of up to two meters, Baribal cubs are born so small that their weight ranges from 200 to 400 grams.
In captivity: in zoos and circuses they can live up to 30 years, but in nature only 10. Now there are about 600,000 individuals.
In 4th place - American Grizzly
Among brown bears, he is the strongest, but not so big. The grizzly bear is very resilient and if there is a fight with another large animal, the animal has an instant grip, which leads to victory. It is considered friendly, but if there is not enough food or feels aggression, the kind nature disappears. The Grizzly's rather strong sense of smell allows it to sense prey at a great distance. It feeds on plant foods, loves fish, and like any predator, does not refuse animal food.
It lives in Alaska and western Canada and reaches 450 kg.
Grizzly in translation means “terrible”, but it does not try to attack people just like that, but only when it is hungry or very angry. In such rare cases, Grizzly was said to be a cannibal. During the rest of the time when it is rich in prey, it is not dangerous.
Brown Siberian bear takes third place
The dimensions of the Russian Siberian reach: weight up to 800 kg, and height up to 2.5 meters. This is a big fish lover, living near the Anadyr, Kolyma and Yenisei rivers. Sometimes found in Chinese provinces.
Although the warm season in these places is short, there is a lot of plant and animal food and allows you to gain a lot of weight.
Siberians are loners and hibernate during the winter. They fish very interestingly: when salmon jump out of the water, the bears try to catch them in the air.
2nd place – one of the brown specimens – Kodiak
They live on the shores of Alaska on Kodiak Island. The brown beast got its name from this island. The largest bear in the world among the brown species. A muscular animal with long legs, the Kodiak easily obtains numerous foods.
They grow 2.6 meters long and gain up to 1000 kg. The height of an adult predator can be up to 2.8 meters.
There was a time when animals could completely disappear, and therefore they were prohibited from being shot. Now their number is increasing, but so far only 3000.
They do not attack people, and therefore do not pose a danger to tourists. But for the animals themselves, these encounters are quite unpleasant. Animals, frightened by strangers, stop eating normally and gain too little fat before hibernation. And an animal caught for the sake of keeping it in a zoo may simply not survive in captivity.
And finally, first place - Polar Bear
Wikipedia believes that the white bear is the world's largest bear, living in the Arctic and reaching a mass of 1 ton or even more. This predatory animal reaches 3 meters in length - how huge!
This is a real record in weight among all species. Can you imagine such a huge beast, like a white steamer, slowly moving among the snow. There is also fur on the paws, so they move easily on the ice and do not freeze in the most severe frosts.
On the island of Spitsbergen there are even more polar bears than people living there. The long neck with a flat head allows it to stretch out and see far.
It is clear that living among the snow on drifting ice, it feeds on animal food: sea hare, fish, walruses, arctic foxes. Just like brown ones, they live alone and until about 30 years old. Only females hibernate when they are pregnant, in order to gain strength to raise the next generation.
There are 28,000 polar bears all over the world, and about 6,000 in Russia alone. And although hunting them is strictly prohibited, poachers kill up to 200 bears every year.
In the photo you saw the largest bears on earth. They are all listed in the Red Book, but poachers do not think about this, destroying animals for the sake of a beautiful skin. Over the entire history of mankind, so many of these animals have been destroyed that many populations are difficult to increase again.
We say goodbye to you until our next meetings on the pages of our website. If you liked the article, share it with your friends, they will also be interested in it.
In this story we will talk about the Malayan bear - the smallest and rarest bear in the world.
The Malayan bear, sun bear, honey bear or biruang is the smallest member of the bear family. Its height does not exceed 1.5 m, and its weight ranges from 25 to 65 kg. Despite its small size, the biruanga is considered perhaps the most ferocious bear in the world. However, this opinion is very stereotypical and exists only in Western countries. In Asia, the Malayan bear is not considered dangerous; moreover, it is tamed and kept as a pet. Bears of this species are relatively easy to train. Only mothers who protect their children and provoked angry individuals are dangerous to people. It is known that in battle the Malayan bear is truly fearless and fights with all its might, striving to win at any cost.
Malayan bears have very large, sickle-shaped claws. They have large paws with bare soles that help them climb trees successfully. Of all the species of bears, biruangas are the ones that love trees the most. Locals call them "basindo nan tenggil", which translates to "one who likes to sit high." Being nocturnal animals, these bears can sleep all day or lie on tree branches. Here they build a kind of nest for themselves and feed on leaves and fruits. By the way, Malayan bears do not hibernate.
Malayan bears are omnivores. They mainly feed on insects, earthworms, shoots, fruits and rhizomes of various plants. An unusually long (20-25 cm), thin and sticky tongue helps the Malayan bear extract honey from beehives. Hence one of its names is “honey bear”. By the way, biruang, on occasion, is not averse to enjoying not only honey, but also the bees themselves. Sometimes Malayan bears also eat lizards, small mammals and birds. Their powerful jaws allow them to easily crack coconuts.
Malayan bears are common in northeast India, southern China, Myanmar, Thailand, the Indochina Peninsula, Borneo and Indonesia.
Unlike other bears, the biruang has short, hard, and smooth fur. This is due to the warm climate in which Malayan bears live. The color is black, on the chest there is usually a large light spot in the shape of a horseshoe, reminiscent in shape of the rising sun. This is where the name of the genus comes from - Helarctos (from Greek hela - sun, arcto - bear), i.e. sun bear.
Life expectancy (in captivity) is up to 25 years. In the wild, Malayan bears are still poorly studied, but it is safe to say that in captivity they live much longer.
The gait of the Malayan bear is interesting - all four paws turn inward when walking. Really, clubfoot!
The vision of Malayan bears leaves much to be desired. This deficiency is compensated by an excellent hearing and sense of smell.
The main enemy for the Malayan bear was and remains man. As mentioned above, biruangs are extremely strong in battle, and therefore other predators try to avoid them. Sometimes there are clashes with tigers and leopards. As you know, large predators most often try to grab their prey by the throat. Thanks to the very loose skin on the neck, Malayan bears can “slip” out of the teeth of a conventional tiger or leopard and strike back.
Humans have caused enormous damage to the Malayan bear population. The Chinese began to use bear bile in their traditional medicine to treat serious bacterial infections 5 thousand years ago. On the island of Borneo, hats are made from animal fur. Trophy hunting for the Malayan bear is popular. Farmers shoot bears because they can cause damage to their banana and coconut plantations. At the moment, biruangs are the rarest species of bear and are listed in the International Red Book. It is known that every year the number of Malayan bears in the world decreases.
Biruang, Malayan bear, Sun bear or “Bear-Dog” are all names of the same bear, which refers to family of bears and is a distant relative of the Giant Pandas. The Malayan bear is the smallest of the bear family. Its weight varies between 27-65 kg.
Helarctos is the name of a bear, sometimes translated as sun bear, because... the first part of the name Hela (from Greek - sun) is given to Biruang because the pectoral whitish or orange patch on his chest resembles the sunrise; arcto (from Greek - bear).
Biruang is distributed from northeast India and southern China through Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina and Malacca to the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. It lives in tropical and subtropical forests of the foothills and mountains of Southeast Asia. It is well adapted to climbing trees and, being a nocturnal animal, often sleeps or sunbathes all day long in the branches of trees, where it builds a kind of nest for itself. Here he feeds on leaves and fruits, breaking branches as a Himalayan bear does.
Let's explore it a little more...
Photo 1. 
This is an animal with a rather long but awkward body, a thick head, a wide muzzle and small ears, very small blind eyes and short water-repellent fur.
The paws of Malayan bears are strong, the soles are bare, and the claws are long, sharp and curved.
A distinctive feature of the Malayan bear is its elongated and very mobile muzzle, which, together with its long tongue, is perfectly adapted for catching termites.
Photo 2. 
Biruanga males are slightly larger than females, but they do not even reach half the mass of adult bears.
The color of the Biruang is black, but there is a striking feature. This is the bright yellow color of the bear's throat. The “sunny” bear, as Biruangs are also called, received this name precisely because of the yellow circle on its neck.
It's like a sun mark for a bear. Biruang is found in Borneo, Java, Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula and ranges north through Tenasserim to Burma and through Arakan to Chittagong.
Biruangi feed on termites, bird eggs, insects, as well as plant roots and honey.
Photo 4. 
The biruang is a nocturnal animal and during the daytime it mostly sleeps and also sunbathes in the foliage of trees. By the way, Biruangs make excellent nests.
In Malay, bears are called “basindo nan tenggil”, which means “one who likes to sit high”.
Yes, you heard right, they really do build nests. And they feel great in trees. Biruangs also feed on carrion; they do not at all disdain the leftover food of other predators.
The main enemies are tigers and leopards. To protect itself from predators, the bear has a special adaptation: very loose skin around its neck. If grabbed, the bear can easily turn around and bite an unsuspecting predator with its strong fangs.
Photo 5. 
The Biruang has a reputation for being aggressive and will attack without provocation. There were times when he, if forced, attacked people and killed them. In general, on the mainland it is not considered dangerous, and only mothers taken by surprise who think that their cubs are in danger dare to undertake such attacks on people.
In general, Malayan bears are harmless and timid unless disturbed, and even females with pups will try to avoid humans as long as possible.
This bear does not hibernate, probably due to the fact that they live in tropical areas and their food sources are present throughout the year.
Photo 6. 
Biruang is a monogamous species. The mating season of the Biruang (when the female is ready to mate) lasts from two days to a week, during which the mating pair is registered. In this case, the male and female engage in characteristic ritual behavior, such as hugging, fake (play) wrestling and jumping.
The female usually brings 1-2, and sometimes 3 cubs, which are born in some secluded place on the ground, in a specially prepared nest. Babies are born blind, naked and helpless, weighing about 300 grams.
Biruangs are one of the rarest species of bears. This species is listed in the International Red Book with the status of “endangered species”.
Photo 7. 
It is also included in Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Their exact number is unknown.
Biruangs are often kept in captivity; they tolerate zoos and even private property very well. The pregnancy of the Biruang female lasts 95 days, and then a calf is born, which weighs only 300 gm.
Photo 8. 
Biruangs are active both day and night and are excellent climbers. During the day they like to sunbathe, settling among tree branches at a height of 2 to 7 meters. This species of bear does not have a hibernation period, probably due to the fact that it lives in tropical areas and food sources exist year-round. Biruang is a very adaptable animal, an omnivore. Bees, termites and earthworms form the main part of its diet. It also feeds on the fruits of various trees. There is no shortage of food in its habitat, so there is usually no need to travel long distances in search of food. Sun bears have a long and sticky tongue, which makes it easy to extract insects from trees, termites from nests, and honey from bee hives. Given the opportunity, the biruang will eat small rodents, birds and lizards.
In addition, biruangs eat small rodents, birds and lizards, as well as carrion left over from tigers' meals. In densely populated areas, it can rummage through garbage, attack livestock and destroy plantations (bananas, coconut palms). Powerful jaws allow it to crack coconuts.
Photo 9. 
The sun bear is one of the rarest bears. The exact number of individuals found in nature is not known, but there is evidence that their numbers are decreasing every year. Habitat destruction forces these bears to live in smaller and more isolated areas. Not much has been done to preserve this species, mainly because it is poorly studied. Poachers hunt biruangs to sell their internal organs, although they have no medicinal value.
One bear of this species demonstrated its intelligence in captivity. Having received rice for food, he did not eat it, but scattered it on the ground at the entrance to his lair, and then caught the birds that had flown in to feast on it. In captivity, the life expectancy of a sun bear is much longer than in nature, reaching up to 24 years.
Photo 10. 
People hunt the Malayan bear for sport and for sale.
The use of bear body parts in medicine probably began in China around 3500 BC, and the first evidence of a bear gall bladder prescription dates back to the 7th century AD. Bear bile is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to treat inflammation and bacterial infections. It is a popular belief that the gall bladders of bears can increase sexual potency in men and women. Bear bile is considered an important medicine in the treatment of serious, painful and sometimes fatal ailments.
On the island of Borneo, the Dayaks sew hats from Malayan bear fur. In certain regions, bears play an important role in dispersing the seeds of certain plants (one sample of these bears' scat was found to contain 309 viable seeds of certain plant species).
Bears can sometimes cause damage to coconut and banana crops.
Photo 11. 
For some reason, the sun bear is called the most primitive among its relatives. Most likely due to poor knowledge of his abilities. Meanwhile, there is a lot of evidence of the beast’s intelligence. For example, when in one of the zoos a biruang was given a bowl of rice as a “ration,” the crafty slave poured its contents onto the floor and, waiting for the birds to fly in “for free” to peck the grain, dined on a small one, i.e. meat of stupid birds. And how cleverly “honey” fights off his enemies, the main of which are tigers and leopards! They simply cannot understand that the very loose skin on the “Malay’s” neck allows him to turn his head very dashingly, and, insidiously attacking from behind, they are unexpectedly bitten by strong bear fangs.
Photo 12. 
The aborigines apparently have their own relationship with these bears, incomprehensible to the uninitiated. They have long tamed them, kept them in villages for fun, and even as pets, allowing children to play with them (hard to imagine, right?). That is why the Malays call the animal “bear-dog”. And the four-legged animals easily take root, giving up their old habits and pleasures, among which one of the favorites is to bask in the sun, build a nest in a tree and lie down in it to “sunbathe.” Maybe the love for the warmth of the sun was the reason why the biruanga was called the sun bear? He, the tree clubfoot, really not only makes a “nest” for himself in the trees (or a hammock?), breaking and bending tree branches, but also spends every day in it. And when hungry, it will stretch out its paw for an edible leaf or fruit, chew it and again doze off in the sun’s rays. Sybarite!
Photo 13. 
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Photo 15. 
Photo 16. 
Photo 17. 
Photo 18. 
Photo 19. 
