Suganthi Suparmaniam New Straits Times 25 Dec 10;
KUALA LUMPUR: It was the first time in his 15 years of service with the Kelantan Wildlife and National Parks Department that director Pazil Abdul Fatah had heard of a sun bear attacking a human.
A sun bear, he said, would run away when it saw humans.
"It does not want any conflict unless it is provoked or startled, or has a young to protect."
A 35-year-old rubber smallholder suffered deep cuts on the right foot when he was bitten by a sun bear in Kuala Balah, Jeli, Kelantan, last week.
The one-metre tall bear, which weighed about 50kg, ran off after the smallholder used a parang and struck it on the head in the 4pm incident.
The sun bear or Helarctos Malayanus is a totally protected species under the Wildlife Act 1972. It is usually found in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia.
Pazil said sun bears could be found all over the country.
"The bears can be found in jungles in Johor, Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Perak and Selangor.
"In Selangor, they can be found in areas like Kuala Kubu Baru and near Gombak."
According to Wikipedia, the sun bear stands at 1.2m tall and is the smallest in the bear family. It has sickle-shaped claws and large paws with naked soles. Its inward-turned feet make the bear's walk pigeon toed, but it is an excellent climber.
The sun bear also has a long slender tongue, ranging between 20cm and 25 cm in length. It is used to extract honey from beehives. Sun bears are born blind and an adult has poor eyesight. Smell is their most important sense.
Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) said it was difficult to determine the population of sun bears in the country, but added that it was declining. With a world population estimated at between 600 and 1,000, the sun bear is one of the rarest animals on earth.
It is on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's red-list of endangered species.
