Sun bears living in China, video shows
sun bear in southeast Yunnan’s Lyuchun county, marking the first time a sun bear was officially recorded in China, Jiang said.
Even though there have been reports of sun bears since 1972, he said most of them are controversial because of a lack of detail and no photos. Some scholars have even wondered whether the sun bear was extinct in China.
“The major threats to sun bears are habitat loss and commercial hunting,” said Li Fei, the lead author of the study and a conservation officer at Kadoorie Conservation China, a department under the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, who focuses on conservation work.
“China has no previous research on the sun bear. The 10-second video is surely exciting,” he said.
“It has critical meaning in verifying the existence of the species in China. In the future, more extensive studies and necessary conservation measures will be carried out in related areas. The video will guide our further studies of the sun bear, which is crucial for its protection.”
Currently, official data about the number of wild sun bears in China is not available. The country has about 20 sun bears in a breeding center. Worldwide, 164 sun bears live in zoos, according to one report.
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