The Malayan bear (or biruang) is a representative of the Bear family. The name comes from the Greek word hela, which means "sun". The reason for this "name" was a milky white or light beige spot on the chest of the beast, reminiscent of the sunrise. The word arcto is translated as "bear". Therefore, helarctos - translates as "solar bear".
Local people also call it a bear-dog for its small size.
The Malayan bear has another "name" - biruang. This is a predator belonging to the genus Malayan bears.
External data
Today we will introduce you to the smallest representative of the whole family, whose “name” is biruang (“sun bear”). The Malayan bear has an elongated, somewhat awkward body, not exceeding 1.5 m in length, its height at the withers is not more than 70 cm, and its weight is about 65 kg. Males are larger than females by about 10-20%.
Malay bear -it is a stocky animal with a short and broad muzzle. Ears are rounded and small. High limbs end with huge paws. They are very strong, the soles are completely bare. The nails are long, curved, and very sharp. The long, sticky tongue probably helps the beast extract honey and destroy termite mounds.
Of all species, the Malayan bear has the largest fangs. The teeth of these animals easily tear meat, but since the biruangs are not very carnivorous, they use their fangs as a weapon or as a tool for cracking wood to get the desired insects.
Coat and color
Malay bear has a beautiful fur coat. The fur is short, tarry black. Only the sides of the muzzle and the spot on the chest are grayish-yellow or orange. There is an opinion that this spot is probably used to intimidate competitors. Sometimes the limbs are covered with light fur.
Habitat
The Malayan bear is an animal leading a solitary lifestyle. The only exceptions are mothers with cubs.
Biruang is distributed over a vast territory - from northern India, southern China, Thailand, the Indochina peninsula to Indonesia.
Lifestyle
The Malayan bear is a predator that lives in the subtropical and tropical forests and mountains of southeast Asia. Biruang climbs trees very well. It is a nocturnal animal, often sleeping during the day on the branches, in the nests equipped by it. Here, on the trees, he feasts on fruits and leaves. Unlike their northern counterparts,does not hibernate. In captivity, this bear lives up to 24 years.
Despite its size, this small but strong Malayan bear is a formidable predator. Even the tiger tries to avoid him whenever possible.
Food
The Malayan bear (biruang) is an omnivore animal. Its diet consists of fruits, earthworms, bees (wild), termites and other insects, small mammals, birds, lizards.
Locals often complain that biruang damages palm trees - it eats their tender offshoots, bananas. Cacao plantations often suffer from raids by these animals.
The Malayan bear has such strong jaws that it can easily open coconuts.
With strong paws and very long (up to 15 cm) claws, it easily destroys termite mounds and bee hives. In this way he gets to the honey, as well as to the larvae of the bees.
The Malayan bear is the rarest species in its family. A distinctive feature of this beast is a sticky and long tongue, which helps to easily get termites, insects from the bark of trees, from nests.
Features of behavior
Biruang is the most "arboreal" bear species. Thanks to powerful claws on four paws, they are excellent at climbing trees.
The Malayan bear is most active at night. These funny animals spend most of their lives in the branches of trees. Here, at a height of 2-7 m, they builddurable flooring (nests), on which they rest, sleep, and also take sunbaths.
The life of these animals in natural conditions is still little studied. Experts assure that this bear is quite aggressive, and even in support of their words they give examples of attacks on people with a very sad outcome.
On the mainland, this bear is not considered dangerous. Residents believe that the attacks in question could only have been carried out by she-bears protecting their offspring.
Actually, Malay bears are timid and harmless creatures when not disturbed. Even females with cubs avoid human encounters in every possible way.
In the homeland of the Biruanga, they are often kept in captivity as a kind and funny animal, and children are allowed to play with it.
Reproduction
The mating season of Malayan bears lasts from two to seven days. At this time, the female and male behave very characteristically. They hug, playfully wrestle and jump.
Mating can occur at any time of the year, indicating that there is no specific mating season. At the Berlin Zoo, the biruanga she-bear gave birth twice a year - in April and August. But this is more the exception than the rule.
On average, pregnancy lasts 95 days, but it is not uncommon for a delay in the penetration of a fertilized egg. For example, at the Fort Worth Zoo, three pregnancies of one bear lasted 174, 228 and 240 days.
Offspring
Usually a female brings 1-2, much less often 3 cubs. As a rule, childbirth takes place in a secluded place, in a pre-prepared nest. Babies are born completely helpless, blind, naked and weighing no more than 300 grams.
From now on, the life and physical development of the cubs is entirely dependent on the mother. Puppies need external stimulation of the excretory systems. This is necessary for the normal cleansing of the intestines and bladder. This procedure is required for babies up to 2 months. In nature, this work is performed by a she-bear, carefully licking her cubs. In captivity, cubs are washed several times a day.
Kids are developing rapidly. By the age of three months, they can run (quickly) on their own, play and eat extra food with their mother. Mother's milk is present in their diet for up to four months.
The skin of newborn babies is first painted black and gray. The mark on the chest and the muzzle are off-white in color. The eyes of babies open by the 25th day, but they have full vision only by the 50th day. Around this time, puppies begin to hear. The first milk fangs erupt at the 7th month, and a full set of teeth is formed by 18 months.
Mother teaches cubs what to eat, where to find food. Until about 2.5 years old, the cubs stay with their mother.
Benefits and harms to humans
Despite the fact that the number of Malayan bears is declining every year, people continue them ruthlesslydestroy. Many of them are hunted for sport and also killed for sale.
Some parts of the Biruang's body are used in medicine. This practice began in China around 3500 BC. e., and the first mention of the use of the biruanga gallbladder dates back to the 7th century AD. e. Bear bile has been successfully used in Chinese medicine. It is used to treat bacterial infections and inflammation. There is an opinion that the bear's gallbladder (remedies from it) is able to increase the potency of men.
Hats are made from biruanga fur on the island of Borneo. In some areas, bears play an extremely important role in distributing plant seeds.
Unfortunately, the Malay bear can cause irreparable damage to coconut and banana plantations.
Population
Today, the Malayan bear (biruang) is listed in the Red Book. Experts find it difficult to name the exact number of these animals living in natural conditions, but there is evidence of a significant annual decrease in their number.
The destruction of the habitat of animals plays a huge role in this process. This forces the Biruangs to live in very small and often isolated areas.
