Sun Bears, Moon Bears & Bile Farms

SUN BEAR or MALAYAN SUN BEAR (Helarctos malayanus)

APPEARANCE: Sun bears, also known as Malayan sun bears, are native to Southeast Asia. They have a short, sleek black coat adorned with yellowish fur around the eyes and muzzle. One of their most distinctive features is the crescent or U-shaped chest mark. They have small, round ears, adapted for living in thick tropical forest. Their long sickle-shaped claws, and large inward-turning front paws, make them excellent climbers. Interestingly, they possess the longest tongue of all bear species, which can extend over 30 cm.

SIZE: Sun bears are the smallest of all bear species. Adult males, when standing on their hind legs, can stand up to 145 cm, or just under 5 foot tall. Adult males can weigh from 40 to 90 kg, with most weighing between 50 and 70 kg. Adult females are smaller, typically weighing between 40 and 60 kg, although their weight can range from 25 to 70 kg.

DIET: Sun bears bears are omnivores, primarily feeding on termites, ants, beetle larvae, bee larvae, honey, and a variety of fruits, especially figs. Occasionally, they consume shoots of certain palms and some species of flowers, but otherwise vegetative matter is rare in their diet.

DISTRIBUTION & HABITAT: Sun bears are found in 11 countries throughout Southeast Asia, including Bangladesh, Brunei, China, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. They prefer to live in undisturbed forests. Thanks to the warm climates they inhabit and the year-round supply of food, sun bears do not need to hibernate.

STATUS & THREATS: Classified as 'Vulnerable' on the IUCN Red List, sun bears are a threatened species facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. Their main threats include habitat loss, poaching for the illegal wildlife trade (for body parts and traditional medicine), wire snare traps left by poachers, the exotic 'pet' trade, and conflicts with humans.

BEHAVIOUR: Sun bears are the most arboreal of all bear species, meaning they spend more time in trees than all other bears. They play a crucial role as a keystone species by dispersing seeds, digging, and breaking open logs which helps the nutrient cycle and creates homes for other species. While they can see in colour, their sense of smell is their strongest sense, being 2-3,000 times more powerful than that of humans.

REPRODUCTION: Unlike other bear species, sun bears reproduce all year. Mothers usually give birth to one or two tiny cubs that weigh around 325 grams. The cubs are born blind and hairless, with almost transparent skin. Cubs stay with their mothers for 2-3 years. Sun bears have an estimated lifespan of 15-25 years and are solitary creatures in the wild.

FUN FACTS: 

• There is debate whether the sun bear name refers to where they are found (near the hot sun of the equator) or the shape of their chest patch
• Despite their small size, their canine teeth are as large as those of a polar bear
• They build 'nests' in trees where they often sleep
• They are also known as 'honey bears' due to their love of honey
• Each sun bear has a unique chest patch, much like a human fingerprint

ASIATIC BLACK BEAR or MOON BEAR (Ursus thibetanus)

APPEARANCE: Moon bears, also known as Asiatic black bears typically have black fur with a distinct white V-shaped marking on their chest and often a white patch on their chin. Their round ears appear large compared to other bear species. While most moon bears are black, brown or golden moon bears have been seen.

SIZE: Moon bears are a medium-sized bear species. They can stand up to 183 cm (6 feet) tall when standing on their hind legs. Adult males can weigh between 100 and 200 kg, but are typically 110 to 150 kg. Adult females are lighter, typically weighing between 65 and 90 kg, though they can range from 50 to 125 kg.

DIET: As omnivores, moon bears have a diverse diet that includes fruits, bees' nests, insects, invertebrates, small vertebrates, and carrion. During autumn, they often create crude leafy feeding platforms in nut-bearing trees. They are poor digesters, which helps disperse seeds from the nuts and fruits they consume.

DISTRIBUTION & HABITAT: Moon bears are found in 18 countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Iran, Japan, both North and South Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. They primarily inhabit mountainous forests but also found in tropical forests. In cooler mountainous areas, they may den for winter sleep.

STATUS & THREATS:  A threatened species, it is classified as 'Vulnerable' on the IUCN Red List, which means a high risk of extinction in the wild. Moon bears face numerous threats including habitat loss, poaching for the illegal wildlife trade, wire snare traps set by poachers, the exotic pet trade, human-bear conflicts, and bear bile farms.

BEHAVIOUR: Despite their size, moon bears are excellent climbers, often scaling tall trees in search of honey. They also enjoy water and are good swimmers, thanks to their strong forearms. Their sense of smell is exceptionally powerful, 2-3,000 times more acute than that of humans. Moon bears make a distinctive clucking sound to alert others of their presence or as a greeting .

REPRODUCTION: Moon bears can reproduce at 3-4 years of age. It is believed they can delay embryo implantation, with births usually occurring in the spring. Typically, a mother will give birth to 2-3 cubs, which are weaned by six months but stay with their mothers for 2-3 years. Moon bears have a lifespan of 25-35 years and are solitary in the wild.

FUN FACTS: 

• Their name comes from the crescent-shaped chest patch resembling a crescent moon
• Each chest patch is unique, much like a fingerprint
• Moon bears can walk upright for long distances and can reach speeds of 25-30 km/hr when running
• However, not all facts are pleasant; moon bears are often exploited in bear bile farms and circus acts

 

 BEAR BILE FARMING

Bear bile farming is a despicable practice where bears (mostly moon bears/Asiatic black bears) are kept in coffin-sized cages and regularly mutilated to extract the bile from their gall bladder. The bile is used in 'traditional medicines'. The practice occurs across various Asian countries, including Vietnam and Laos (where we operate).

Most of the bears found in the farms in Vietnam and Laos were taken from the wild as cubs, decimating wild bear populations. The bears in the farms are starved and stressed, with wasted muscles and terrible injuries from years of bile extraction, standing on bars and banging their heads against the bars of the cages. Many are in pain with cracked or broken teeth and paws, go blind, have infections or develop cancers from the injuries. Most die young (a premature death) from the maltreatment.

Almost every traditional medicine made from wild animals (tiger bone, pangolin scales, rhino horns etc) has NO scientifically proven benefit. In contrast, however, there is an an active compound in bear bile (UDC Acid) which has been scientifically proven to benefit certain medical disorders (although those selling bear bile claim it can do all sorts of things, from darkening hair to curing bruising and hangovers, all unproven).

Importantly, the active compound in bear bile is now easily manufactured in the laboratory - providing a safe, clean and cheap way for it to be available to doctors. There is NO reason to extract bile from bears or keep bears in bile farms.

Free the Bears exists because our founder, Perth grandmother Dr Mary Hutton OAM, learnt of moon bears kept in bile farms and wanted to help. For the past 28 years we've been trying to "Free the Bears" from the bile farms. It may sometimes appear that the fight to end bear bile farming is a never-ending battle with little progress being made. In the countries in which Free the Bears has sanctuaries - Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos - this is definitely not the case. Laws have been enacted in all three countries which prohibit taking bears from the wild or extracting bile. 

In Cambodia the bear bile industry never managed to gain a foothold whereas in Laos there are an estimated 100 bears which remain caged in largely foreign-owned farms close to the Chinese border. Recent directives by the Laos government to strengthen wildlife protection and law enforcement, as well as recent years of record rescues by Free the Bears provides hope that the industry will not develop further. We're raising funds to build additional bear houses at our Luang Prabang Wildlife Sanctuary in preparation for future bile farm closures.

Of the three countries, it is in Vietnam that the greatest number of bears remain affected. The Vietnamese government made it illegal to take bears from the wild or extract bile from bears in 2005. However, farmers were permitted to keep bears already held in farms, as there was nowhere to take the bears - there were no rescue centres and the bears could not be released into the wild. A nationwide audit in 2005 found there were 4,300 bears caged in the farms at this time, almost all of which were suspected to be poached from the wild. They were all microchipped so they could be identified.

Although after 2005 it was illegal to take bile from captive bears, this was difficult to police and the practice continued as there was still a demand for bear bile. In the years since, thanks to education and behaviour change initiatives aimed at Vietnamese consumers and traditional medicine practitioners as well as changing consumer habits, demand for farmed bile has declined. The price has crashed and many bile farms have closed down.

It’s not all good news however. With declining incomes, farmers are drastically cutting food budgets and/or killing bears to sell into the illegal wildlife trade.

Changing attitudes and declining demand combined with a concerted push from conservationists is encouraging some farmers to give up the bears and allow them to live their final years in the safety and comfort of a sanctuary.

In the 18 years since the law came into place it is estimated that less than 400 bears have been rescued from the bile farms to sanctuaries like ours. Out of the original 4,300 documented bears, it is estimated that there are currently less than 200 left caged on the farms or in private households in Vietnam. This means that over 3,700 of the original 4,300 bears found in the 2005 audit have perished within the farms, most likely younger than normal, having lived a horrible confined live full of starvation, pain, stress and trauma.

A key problem preventing more rescues at this critical time is the unwillingness of owners to voluntarily hand over the bears. Owners want to 'monetise' the bears (by selling the bears or bear parts, dead or alive) or they claim to think of the bears as loved 'pets' and refuse to give them up (despite the fact the bears are clearly suffering in small cages and lead miserable lives).

Paying for release of bears is not an option, this creates a market for trade in bears, a protected species. We continue to work with owners to try to convince them to hand over bears, as well as the government, to try to convince them to pressure owners to hand the bears over. 

Bear bile farming in Vietnam will end in the coming years. Sadly, with accelerating death rates of the remaining elderly bears in the farms and the refusal of owners to give them up, many of the remaining bears will never experience sanctuary life. We'll continue to rescue as many bears as we can.

Tragically, over 10,000 bears remain in bile farms in countries in which Free the Bears does not operate. We hope that the increasing awareness of animal cruelty and wildlife conservation issues, coupled with an end to bear bile farming in other countries, will help push these countries towards eradicating bear bile farming forever.