Taxon name
Helarctos malayanus
(Raffles, 1821)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Helarctos malayanus
(Raffles, 1821)
Common name(s)
Sun Bear, Malayan Sun Bear, Choto Bhalluk, Shurjo Bhalluk
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Mammals
Species authority
(Raffles, 1821)
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
Ursus malayanus (Raffles, 1821); Helarctos euryspilus (Horsfield, 1825); Helarctos anmamiticus (Heude, 1901)
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
Bangladesh
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Critically Endangered
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
There is eighty five percent loss in the potential habitat of this bear over the last four decades (Islam et al. 2013). There is one recent confirmed record of Sun Bear from Bandarban in 2015 (S.C. Rahman pers. comm.). One individual kept in captivity at Bangabandhu Safari Park, Dulahazara collected from Chittagong Hill Tracts. Although Extent of Occurrence and Area of Occupancy are beyond the threshold levels, the population is no way close to 50 mature individuals. Thus, it has been categorized as Critically Endangered.
Assessment details
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
Shayer Mahmood Ibney Alam
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN (2012) IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1. Second edition. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iv + 32pp; IUCN (2012) Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
URL (link) of redlist assessment or publication
http://iucnredlistbd.org/
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
Mainland Southeast Asia as far west as Bangladesh and northeastern India, as far north as southern Yunnan Province in China, and south and east to Sumatra and Borneo (Fredriksson et al. 2008). A rare species, historically occurred in mixed evergreen forests of southeast and northeast and occasionally in deciduous forests of north (Blanford 1888) and recent reports from remote areas of the Bandarban, Khagrachari and Rangamati Districts of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Region up to 1970s. Then, the population started dwindling and that trend continued till date (Khan 1982, 2015). Specific locations include Satchari National Park in Habiganj District, Korerhat in Mirsharai Forest Range and Rangamati in Southeastern Bangladesh (Sarker 2006). Also been reported by local people in SanguMatamuhuri, Bilaichhari (in Rangamati) and Remacri under Thanchi Upazila of Bandarban Hill District, Naikhongchari, Dulahazara, Cox's Bazar, Inani, Rangkheong, and Teknaf (Islam et al. 2013). There is only one recent confirmed report of sigthing from the Bandarban District ( S.C. Rahman pers. comm.).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes, in the publication/on website
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
In Bangladesh, Sun Bear prefers only mixed evergreen forest. It is the smallest among the eight living bear species in the world. This bear is an opportunistic omnivores. Sun Bear diet includes termites and ants, beetle larvae, honey bee larvae, and even small rodents, birds and lizards, honey and variety of fruit species, especially figs (Ficus spp.). Unlike other bears, it is not known to hibernate due to year round availability of food and subtropical climatic conditions in which it lives. Little is known about social structure or reproduction in Sun Bears (Fredriksson et al. 2008).
History
Critically Endangered in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh 2000).
Publication
IUCN Bangladesh. 2015. Red List of Bangladesh Volume 2: Mammals. IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Bangladesh Country Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh, pp. xvi+232
