Why do Malayan sun bears have long tongues?
They have a very long tongue at 20 – 25cm. This helps them extract honey from bee hives, earning them the alternative name ‘honey bear’ or ‘beruang madu’ in Malay and Indonesian. Sun bears live in tropical lowland forests and is one of the bear species that can be found in SE Asia.
What is the tiniest bear?
Sun bears
Little Bear of the Forest And they’re little. Sun bears are the smallest bear in the world, weighing between 75 and 80 pounds. A big male Borneo sun bear might be 100 pounds. A male grizzly bear, on the other hand, can easily weigh up to 600 pounds (and those that feed on salmon in Alaska can weigh considerably more).
Do bears have tongues?
All bears have very long tongues that they use to extract insects from nests almost like an anteater. Some individuals will eat small prey like mice and birds.
What animal has the longest tongue?
The giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) of Latin America can extend its tongue at least 45 centimetres (1 foot 5 inches) outside its mouth, and there are reports of it reaching as long as 61 centimetres (2 feet).
Do sun bears eat honey?
Sun bears chow down insects, leaves, lizards, and berries. But the sun bear’s favorite snack is honey. To get the treat, they rip open beehives with their sharp claws. Then the bears use their superlong tongues to extract the honey inside, often gobbling up bees with the sticky sweet.
Are sun bears actually bears?
Sun bears are named for the golden patches of fur on their chests, which some people say resemble a rising sun. While their tongues may be extra-big, sun bears are actually the smallest bear species.
What color is a bear’s tongue?
Their skin – and tongue – is black Maybe dark skin helps to keep the bear warm by absorbing heat, or maybe it’s just a quirk. Even polar bear tongues are dark, often ranging from blue, to purple, and sometimes black.
Has a sun bear ever killed anyone?
Human casualties by sun bear have been reported in Ukhrul and Chandel districts of Manipur, India [6]. In Japan, Canada, Mexico and United States, black bears were found to cause human casualties [15, 16]. In North America, approximately 100 people have been killed by grizzly bear in the past 100 years [25].
Do bears have blue tongues?
Believe it or not, despite their snowy white fur polar bears have black skin which helps them absorb heat and stay warm in their icy home. This black skin extends to their tongues, giving them a dark bluish color that’s stark against their white fur.