Interview with Sunny the Sun Bear aka Malayan Sun Bear (part 2)

Me : Being in a country where people absolutely love to eat, I'm sure the readers would like to know your favourite food.
Sunny : My favourite food? Hmmm... that's a bit difficult to answer because I love to eat. We sun bears are omnivores which means we eat plants as well as meat but basically our diet consists of fruits, berries, roots, insects, small birds, lizards, rodents and also the occasional termites. But my favourite I would have to say fruits. It is a much healthier alternative. Oh, and I absolutely love honey.

Me : Where and how do you get honey?
Sunny : Well, if you notice, I have a very long tongue, which I can use to get honey from beehives. That is why we are also known as "honey bear".

Me : You sure have a lot of nicknames.
Sunny : Hahaha... yes we do.

Me : So, what's a typical day for you like?
Sunny: Well, I don't go out much especially during the day. That is when I catch up on my sleep. I usually go out at night to gather food because I think it's safer and I won't bump into humans. I am very shy.

Me : Do you live with your family?
Sunny : No. I used to live with my mother but now I live on my own. I am already 4 years old. But I live nearby her just to keep an eye on her.

Me : Where do you live at the moment?
Sunny : I like to sleep on big trees because it is safe and I used to live on this one big, cosy tree not too far from here but not anymore. Some humans had cut it down. I think they've built some human houses there.

Me : I'm sure there are other nice big trees.
Sunny : There used to be. Lots of them but those were also cut down and then human moved there. It is not really a good idea to live near them even if they have lots of food so I moved further into the jungle though it's not really a jungle anymore.

Me : Why did you say that it is not a very good idea to live near humans? You say so yourself that they have a lot of food. Isn't that good?
Sunny : No it is not. Humans are very dangerous to us. They can hurt us and even kill us. I heard that some of them even eat us. We are very scared of humans.

Me : I see. But I think humans are also scared of bears. I mean, look at those claws you have.
Sunny : Maybe but bears don't actually use their claws to hurt people. We use them to climb trees. They are very useful for that.

Me : Wow, those claws look very sharp and dangerous. Maybe you want to keep it away or something.
Sunny : Actually, our claws are not retractable but don't worry, I won't hurt you if you don't hurt me. We are a peace-loving species.

Me : In your opinion, what are the major factors that contribute to the decline of your family's population?
Sunny : Well, as I have mentioned before, our habitat and homes are being demolished by humans to make way for developments and settlements. As a result, our food source becomes scarce so we have no choice but to take food from humans. I think that's fair considering they have taken our homes but they certainly don't think so. So, they will capture us and sometimes even kill us, like I have mentioned before.

Me : That is very sad and unfair.
Sunny : Yes, it is. On top of that, we are also hunted for our body parts. I think humans use it for medicinal purposes and sometimes, female bears are killed because humans want the cubs as pets, just like what happened to my cousin.

Me : Wow, bears have a very difficult life.
Sunny : We do. That is why I agreed to do this interview even though I am afraid of humans. I want everybody to know about us and our life so that they will leave us alone and stop hurting us because we never hurt anybody intentionally. So to all readers, please stop hurting us and please help protect us. Help me spread this message.

Me : We will definitely help in any way that we can. I guess that's all for now. Thank you again for agreeing to do this interview and for sharing your interesting life with the readers.
Sunny : You are most welcome. And thank you to you too for helping us to highlight our concerns and the issues and problems that affects our lives and bringing it to the public's attention.