Interview with Sunny the Sun Bear aka Malayan Sun Bear

Me: First of all, thank you for agreeing to do this interview. I know how much you dislike all this attention.
Sunny: No problem. It's my pleasure to be invited to do this interview because I am not doing this for myself but for the entire sun bear population everywhere. As you know, we are on the fast road to extinction. Currently we are on the vulnerable list.

Me: That is one of the reason for this interview, to create awareness amongst public of your plight but we'll get to that shortly. First, let's get people to know you better.
Sunny: Sure, fire away.

Me: Okay. Sunny, you are called a sun bear. Is it because you like the sun, like maybe you like to sun bathe or
something?
Sunny: Hahaha... I think a lot of people have that misconception about us because of our name and because our fur is so dark in colour that they think that maybe we love to bask in the sun, but no. In fact, I am more of a night bear. The truth is we are called a sun bear because of this patch of golden fur on our chest. My grandmother told me that legend has it that this patch of fur is believed to represent the rising sun, hence the name sun bear.

Me: So, does every sun bear have this golden patch on his or her chest?
Sunny: Well yes, but sometimes it can also be a white patch. Personally, I think the golden one looks better, but that's just me...

Me: Okay, next question. Tell us, where's your family from?
Sunny: My sun bear family, which is the smallest of the extended bear family, lives mainly in dense lowland forests all over Southeast Asia including southern China, eastern India and also Indonesia. As for me, I was born in Malaysia but I'm thinking of moving.

Me: Oh, do you have somewhere in particular in mind?
Sunny: I don't know yet. I'm thinking about getting in touch with my extended bear family all over the world like my cousins the panda bears and the polar bears. That would be interesting.

Me: I bet it would. Sunny, earlier you spoke about the origins of the name sun bear but I just remembered I read somewhere that sun bears are sometimes called "dog bear". Why is that? Are you in any way related to dogs?
Sunny: Not that I know of. What I do know is that we got this particular nickname due to the way our bodies are build, you know, stocky, muscular, small ears and short muzzle. I guess we kind of look like dogs but of course cuter.

Me: Hahaha... That sounds pretty vain...
Sunny: Hahaha... I don't like to brag but I think my sleek black coat of fur is absolutely gorgeous. Not only does it look beautiful, it is also very useful to protect us from twigs, branches and rain because it is quite thick and course but short enough to keep us from overheating in the tropical weather that we live in.

Me: How do you take care of it?
Sunny: I try to spend as much time grooming myself. I also try to bath regularly to keep the natural shine from fading and I try to avoid rubbing myself against anything too rough as it would fade the colour of my fur and could also cause balding. I know that because it happened to one of my cousin who was kept as a pet in a nearby village from where I live and she kept rubbing herself against the cage. Soon, her once extremely beautiful fur had turned all brown with bald patches. She also got sores on her skin.

Me: That's really sad.
Sunny: Yes it is. Sometimes, we try to go visit her and sometimes we even try to help her escape but we haven't been successful. Her mother misses her very much.

Me: I wish you all the luck with that.
Sunny: Thank you. We all miss her very much and hope that she can come home soon. Next question?

To be continued...