Distribution: Sun bear range extends across all of mainland Southeast Asia, except north of the Red River of Vietnam. The northern recent range limit was Yunnan Province, China, but just one vagrant, close to the Myanmar border, has been recorded (via camera trap) there since the early 1970s. Westward they range into northeast India. There they do not cross (nor is there any evidence that they ever crossed) the Brahmaputra River. This wide river basin constitutes a habitat barrier for a host of Southeast Asian species. Their current or past distribution in northeast India is uncertain. For example, it is unknown whether they occupy the Indian state of Meghalaya, which would constitute their western range limit. Likewise, it is unclear whether a population of sun bears exists in Bangladesh, or just a few individuals sometimes crossing in from Myanmar. Southward they extend past the southern range limit of Asiatic black bears at the Isthmus of Kra in southern Thailand, to the far reaches of peninsular Malaysia, and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Fossil records from the Pleistocene period have been found farther north in China and farther south in Java. They never ranged farther east, to the island of Sulawesi (i.e., did not cross Wallace’s line) because, unlike Borneo, Sumatra, and Java, this was not connected to the mainland during sun bear evolution.
Present sun bear distribution is patchy and much reduced as a result of human activities. They have disappeared from many areas where forest habitat was lost, with populations faring the worst at the edges of their range (China, northeast India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam).
Range map of sun bear (H malayanus) mapped by Bear Specialist Group created by Free the Bears
Range countries: (9–11)
Resident populations: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam
Vagrants or transboundary population: Bangladesh, China
Extirpation: Sun bears occurred in what is now Singapore, but were extirpated due to the widespread deforestation that occurred in the 1800s and 1900s. They appear to be functionally extirpated in China and Bangladesh.
Elevational range: Sun bears use a wide range of elevations, although they prefer productive lowland areas. They have been detected at over 2,100 m in Sumatra and up to 3,000 m in India. In Thailand they were excluded by Asiatic black bears at elevations above 1,200m.
Overlap with other bear species: Sun bears are sympatric with Asiatic black bears throughout their mainland range north of the Isthmus of Kra in southern Thailand. It is unclear whether sun bears overlap the current range of sloth bears anywhere in northeast India.
Asiatic black bear_U thibetanus_Cambodia bear sanctuary_Free the Bears
