Context:
Recently, a sun bear in a Chinese zoo came to limelight as it was seen interacting with tourists by waving hands.
About sun bear
- The smallest bear species
- Named for the golden patches of fur on their chests – resemble a rising sun.
- Location: Southeast Asia
- Notable feature – Extremely long tongue
- In India it occurs in the North-eastern region, though it is not common.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency in August, a sun bear stands on hind legs to interact with tourists at the Hangzhou Zoo in Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province. The zoo in eastern China is denying suggestions some of its bears might be people in costumes after photos of the animals standing like humans circulated online. The Hangzhou Zoo said on its social media account the sun bears from Malaysia are smaller than other bears and look different but are the real thing.
Only animals that evolved climbing ability, like bears, raccoons, primates and some of the cat family, can turn their palms upwards and move their forearms side-to-side. This allows them to grab hold of trees. Animals that evolved to run long distances, like deer, wolves and horses, can’t do this.
Bears of India
- India is home to four species of bears
- Asiatic black bear
- Himalayan brown bear
- Sloth bear
- Sun bear
- Sloth Bear is endemic to the Indian subcontinent and occurs in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
- Sloth Bear is the inspiration for the character Baloo in Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle book.
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year question
Which of the following is not a bird?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2022 Prelims]
(a) Golden Mahseer
(b) Indian Nightjar
(c) Spoonbill
(d) White Ibis
Answer: (a)
