Teddy makes three -- Singapore Zoo gets a newborn sun bear

Granny 'Garang,' the oldest sun bear in captivity at the Singapore Zoo, is now the proud grandmother of a yet-to-be-named male baby bear. The 33-year-old matriarch's daughter Judy had the new addition to their family in February, including eight-year-old Matahari, Judy’s first offspring.

Sun bears are the smallest species of bears in the world and are found primarily in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia. According to the Zoo, though relatively diminutive in size and cuddly looking, these animals can be aggressive in the wild, and are among the most dangerous creatures in the forest. Except for females with their offspring, sun bears are solitary animals and usually give birth to only one cub. These bears spend most of the day sunbathing or sleeping in trees, with their sharp claws perfectly tailored for scaling tree trunks. Because they inhabit rainforests in a tropical climate, sun bears have the least shaggy coat among all bears, and have a prominent yellow-white or orange U-shaped marking on their chests.

The Singapore Zoo, however, is doing its part to ensure the sun bear’s survival through its successful captive breeding programme, which has produced three sun bears since Garang’s arrival as a one-year-old cub in 1978. Mother and daughter duo Judy and Matahari were both born in Singapore Zoo, as was the latest three-month-old addition.

“Besides our ongoing breeding programme, we were also involved in overseas research and conservation projects, including a field research project in the Danum Valley region of Sabah to gather data on the ecology of the sun bear and its prospects for survival in disrupted forest habitats. Information gathered from this research has allowed the zoo to gain further insight into the sun bears’ physical and behavioural requirements,” said Mr Biswajit Guha, director of zoology at Singapore Zoo.