It's Always Sunny for a Sun Bear.

Today's Animal of the Day is the Sun Bear!

Sun bears are probably the coolest kind of bear. Mostly because they don't submit to the main stream standard of regular bears. Here's some fun facts about these awesome bears! 

-Sun bears are named for the yellow patch on their chest that resembles a rising sun (not because their native homeland is the sun. I know, it's confusing). 

-At an average of only 4-5ft long and between 60-150lbs, the sun bear is the smallest of all bears

-Sun bears are omnivores and don't really consume much large prey items 

-Sun bears live in the southern parts of china through the northeastern part of India and reaching to the southern part of Indonesia. 

-Sun bears are arboreal meaning they mostly live in trees. They have even been observed using leaves and branches to create a surface to sleep on while in trees. 

Please observe the totes adorable baby sun bear. Note the yellow patch on his chest that earned the species its name. 

So you want a pet Sun bear....

Ok so I actually could see why you would want a pet Sun Bear; they're roughly the size of a large dog and hey, they don't really eat people. So that's a bonus. Unfortunately, you shouldn't actually get a sun bear as a pet. Here's why!

Their Walk.  Sun bears walk on their hind legs. Like you know, a person. This should be a red flag because they're a bear. Walking on hind legs is not a normal bear thing to do. Not only do they walk on their hind legs, mother bears will carry their young while walking on their hind legs. I'm sorry but if I woke up and saw a tiny bear carrying an even tinier bear towards me, I'd scream my brains out and cry. 

Don't mind me, just carrying a bear.

• They're Shy. Sun bears are really timid. This means you won't be taking long disturbing bear-on-hind-legs strolls around the park, nor will you be chilling on your couch watching the latest Winnie the Pooh movie. No, your bear will most likely be watching you from dark mysterious places, lurking in the dusty corner seeking berries they will never find. Which should creep you out. 

• Their Claws. Sun bears have long sharp 4 inch claws. They're used for ripping open trees. Although they probably wouldn't use this strength to rip you apart (but really, who knows). They'd most likely use them to rip apart your couch or rip through doors spewing wood chips everywhere. And you could get a splinter and those are really inconvenient. 

• Their Tongues.  Perhaps the most imperative reason you should not own a Sun Bear is their specially designed insect honey sucking tongue. Its extremely creepy and disturbing. Just look. 

Yup.

What if he tries to lick you? Theres not enough therapy to ever recover from that. 

• You probably couldn't find one. Sadly, sun bears are very elusive, making it hard to determine the exact status of sun bears, but it is believed their numbers are not very high. Sun bears are victims of lost habitats and falling victims to the ignorance of humanity.The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) is an organization dedicated solely to helping sun bears. You can visit their website at http://www.bsbcc.org.my to learn about the different ways you can aid in the conservation of the awesome Sun Bear. 

• It's illegal. In Ohio it is illegal to own any type of bear. 

Now for your entertainment, here is a video of a baby sun bear trying to stay awake