From tropical rainforests, to mountain ranges and regions, grasslands and tropical forests, bears are found throughout the world.
The world’s smallest bears may not tower over the forest, but they are fascinating creatures in their own right. Agile, resourceful and full of character, these bears share many traits with their larger relatives while displaying their own unique behaviours and adaptations.
From foraging habits to habitats, they are a remarkable reminder that every species, no matter its size, plays an important role in the wild.
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World’s smallest bear species
Sun bear
- Weight: 25-65kg
- Conservation status: vulnerable
- Diet: omnivorous (ants, bees, beetles, honey, turtles, reptiles, fruit)
The sun bear is the smallest bear species on our planet, and generally has short and jet black fur, however it can vary from grey to red. Primarily found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, it is the only species in the genus Helarctos and are stockily built with large paws, strongly curved claws, small rounded ears and a short snout.
Sun bears are heavily threatened by deforestation, and poaching for food and in the wildlife trade, and when they wander into human areas. Their usually timid nature has left them at risk of being tamed and trained as pets, and it’s estimated their global population has declined by 35% since the 1990s.
They are mainly active during the day and are excellent climbers and are the most arboreal (tree dwelling) of all bears, preferring to sunbathe or sleep in trees 2-7 metres above ground. They are also noted for their intelligence and a 2019 study described their ability to skillfully mimic facial expressions, with precision comparable to that seen in gorillas and humans.
Spectacled bear
- Weight: 60-170kg
- Conservation Status: vulnerable
- Diet: primarily vegetarian eating fruit, berries, cacti and honey – although sometimes meat
The second smallest bear in the world can be found roaming the dense Andean jungles of South America; the only bear on the continent. Climbing as high as 14,000 feet, they will descend to search for food, and have been seen in widely differing habitats, from rainforests, to steppe lands and coastal deserts.
Primarily vegetarians, spectacled bears have been known to sit in trees for days on a platform of broken branches, waiting for fruit to ripen. They sometimes supplement their diet with meat occasionally, eating small rodents, birds and insects, making them the largest carnivores in South America.
Spectacled bears are threatened by habitat loss due to agricultural expansion and illegal mining, as well as poaching.
Sloth bear
- Weight: 55-145 kg
- Conservation Status: vulnerable
- Diet: insectivorous and omnivorous (ants, termites, honey, flowers, carrion)
Sloth bears are reclusive animals that make their home in the forests of South East Asia. They’re noisy and messy eaters, wandering the night feeding on termites and ants using their long curved claws and long lower lip and palate to pull out and suck up the insects.
They have also been known to scale trees and knock off bee honeycombs, which they’ll sit on the ground and savour, giving them the nickname ‘honey bears’.
Baloo from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book is thought to be a sloth bear, however is depicted more like a brown bear in many film adaptations.
Their coats are shaggy, and almost all sloth bears have a distinctive Y or V mark on their chest, thought to serve as a threat display to tigers, as the two species often live in close quarters (think Sher Khan). When threatened, sloth bears respond by standing on their hind legs and displaying their impressive foreclaws.
Threatened by habitat loss, sloth bears are classified as vulnerable and are sometimes captured or hunted.
Asian black bear
- Weight: 80-200kg
- Conservation status: vulnerable
- Diet: fruit, eggs, seeds, honey and occasionally ungulate prey
Also known as ‘moon bears’, they have a distinctive V shaped white mark on their chest, living a largely arboreal lifestyle across southeastern Iran, Pakistan, India and the Himalayas to mainland Southeast Asia, the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan, mainland China and the Russian Far East to the islands of Honshū and Shikoku in Japan.
Asian black bears are reproductively compatible with several other bear species, and have on occasion produced hybrid offspring.
They have somewhat comically bell-shaped ears, similar to your toy teddy bear, that stick out sideways from their heads. Normally diurnal (active in the day time) they become nocturnal (active at night) nearer to human habitations. They also don’t normally hibernate, preferring to move to lower ground, although nearly all pregnant sows will hibernate.
With a diet that would cost a fortune in a health food shop, Asian black bears tend to eat such things as eggs, mushrooms, fruits, nuts, seeds, honey, cherries and grains. Wild ungulate prey (larger hooved mammals) can include muntjacs, serow, takin, Malayan tapir, wild boar and adult water buffaloes, which it kills by breaking their necks.
Deforestation has caused issues to the Asian black bear populations, however, hunting is the biggest threat, as their paws, gall bladders, skin and cubs have economic value.
These bears are also widely used in bear bile farming, a practice where the animals are kept in small cages to harvest the bile from their liver, which is used in traditional Asian medicine practices.
Top image: a young spectacled bear. Credit: Getty
