A Rare Sun Bear Is Born
Posted at 12:08 pm September 25, 2006 by Suzanne HallShe did it again! Marcella, our Bornean sun bear female, gave birth over the weekend to her second cub. The staff of the San Diego Zoo’s Sun Bear Forest and CRES researchers are thrilled with this new arrival. (Read Suzanne’s previous blog, Sun Bear Summary.)
The birth of this cub is significant for many reasons. First, the cub is only the second Bornean sun bear to ever be born in North America, and as far as we are aware, it is only the second born in all the Western Hemisphere. The first was Danum, the cub born to Marcella in 2004, who now resides at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas. (Marcella is pictured here with a young Danum.)
Additionally, the cub is a representative of a species in dire need of conservation assistance. The Bornean sun bear may be the subspecies of bear more likely to go extinct, as it faces a crisis of rapid habitat destruction due to logging, fires, and the rise of palm oil plantation farming in their native land. The addition of one more sun bear to the population aids in our efforts to promote breeding of this species in managed care.
Marcella appeared to go into labor on Saturday, September 23, at about 1 p.m. She performed many of the same types of behaviors seen during a panda labor, and at about 3:30 p.m. she gave birth to what appears to be a healthy cub. Since then, Marcella has shown herself to be an able mother, remaining ensconced in her den and caring for the cub attentively. Unlike with her first cub, she did come out on the first day postpartum for a quick meal and a drink”¦ she’s a bit more relaxed the second time around!
We won’t know for some time if the cub is a male or a female, because we have to wait to see when staff can pull the cub for an examination. It could be many months. In any case, don’t expect to see this baby on exhibit any time soon: like pandas, the cubs are born quite helpless, and the dam will continue to shelter in the den for the next 100 days or so.
Congratulations, Marcella!
Suzanne Hall is the senior research laboratory technician for the Giant Panda Conservation Unit of the Applied Animal Ecology Division/CRES.
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September 25th, 2006 at 12:56 pm
What wonderful news!!!! The sun bears are so unusual with the blue eyes and the sun spot on their chest.
Congrats to everyone involved!!
September 25th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
Yay to Marcella! How big is a newborn sun bear? Does the baby already have the sun marking on the chest? When do you think the baby will be on exhibit (provided it survives)?
September 25th, 2006 at 1:07 pm
well done, marcella. i also have a comment and a question: i have been on other zoo websites and Honululu zoo has had a cub named Kaika born in 1984. my questions are: how old are Dibu,Ting Ting, and Marcella? what years did the bears come in? And i would love some pics or movies. good luck to everyone and marcella! Kudos
September 25th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
Congratulations Marcella! SDZ keepers are very busy the past few weeks with a new ” wave” of babies to tend to over the cooler months of the year. Su Lin seems like an ” oldster” compared to the new arrivals. Can’t wait to see pictures of the little sun bear. Haven’t seen one close up lately so I am excited to see a baby.
September 25th, 2006 at 3:28 pm
Hooray, Marcella! Can’t wait for video showing Marcella walking upright on her back legs carrying her baby!
September 25th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
Sayuri #2: The sun bear cub is born a little bigger than the panda cub, although we don’t have a weight to give you (no one has gotten their hands on a Bornean this young yet!). Relative to the size of the dam, who is smaller than a panda dam, the cub is a greater percentage of it’s mother’s size. The cub doesnt yet have its sun marking, but does appear to have a little dot on its nose, just like its daddy, Dibu! The cub will probably be on exhibit early next year.
Calvin #3: the ages of all the sun bears (except our new cub) in San Diego are guesstimates, since they were all rescued from the pet trade in Borneo and we don’t know their actual birth dates. Marcella is estimated to be ten years of age now, and Ting Ting is a few years older. Dibu is probably around Marcella’s age. All of the Bornean sun bears in North America arrived in the USA in either 1996 or 2000, except for the two that have been born at our facility.
September 25th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
Great News!! Danum was soooo cute when he was a baby! I can’t wait until this new cub is big enough for everyone to see!! Please post pictures/videos when you can. Thanks for sharing! P.S. The sun bears Ken and Jun at the Hononlulu Zoo have had a cub, but they are Malayan sun bears, so maybe that’s a different subspecies. Anyway, they are all wonderful!!
September 25th, 2006 at 5:56 pm
i saw marcella and ting ting on animal tracks when they were at sepilok. when i heard them say Marcella and ting ting i knew exactly who they were and just thought how much they are contributing now! best of hopes for every one !
September 26th, 2006 at 2:26 pm
Thank you for the update on Marcella and her new cub, also for letting us know what zoo Danum was sent to. How is he doing at his new home? I am so glad to hear she has another baby and hopefully this is just the beginning of keeping these wonderful sun bears from becoming extinct.
September 27th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
how much did danum weigh when he left? what day was danum born?
September 28th, 2006 at 10:32 am
Calvin #10,
Danum was born on Feb. 17, 2004. I will have to check the records to get you a confirmed weight, but off the cuff I am guessing he was in the 30+ kilo range… he was nearly full sized, and a very fit, muscular young bear!
September 28th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
What happy news to learn that there is another baby Bornean sun bear and more hope to save this species! It’s great to know that Danum is at the Gladys Porter Zoo because we spend part of each winter on S. Padre Island, TX; so we’ll have lots of opportunities to visit him. When will he reach sexual maturity? Looking forward to seeing some baby sun bears in TX (hope hope hope)!
September 28th, 2006 at 5:21 pm
Charlotte #12,
We aren’t quite sure when Bornean sun bears reach maturity, but it is probably at about age 4-6. Male pandas mature a little more slowly than do females, so perhaps these Borneans will be the same way. Danum has a little way to go before he will be able to breed. But as a male in a population of captive bears with very few reproductively successful males (so far his daddy is the only one who is proven!) we hope that he will be a very valuable animal to contribute to reproduction.
September 29th, 2006 at 7:10 am
Aww, congratulations! And look at those cute pink paws.
September 29th, 2006 at 8:02 am
congratulations Marcella, what a cute little baby. It is so sad that these countries don’t realize the effect that the pet trade is having on these animal. but this baby is hope for the future of the species. I just read that there was another panda birth; this makes 28 so far and they are expecting a couple more soon.
September 29th, 2006 at 9:56 am
Barbara #15,
Thankfully, the pet trade isn’t the most pressing issue facing the Bornean sun bear today. Some recent studies have shown a decline in the numbers of these bears that fall subject to this threat.
Habitat destruction is the biggest concern. The ability of consumers worldwide to make educated, conservation-minded decisions about what types of wood products to purchase can help tremendously. If we can reduce the need to tear down Borneo’s forests, we can reduce extinction pressure on this bear species and the many animals and plants that share its homelands. Bearded pigs and orangutans are two other animals that are losing out due to rampant loss of forest.
September 29th, 2006 at 11:34 am
How exciting!!! Another baby to watch as it goes through its growing stages. And I am happy to hear that mom is handling this event with much more trust and is relaxed. Good job ” mommy bearâ€..hugs and kisses to you and baby…..
September 30th, 2006 at 7:49 am
Well done Marcella and SDZ!
I look forward to seeing more of baby and its parents when we can.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:29 am
do the sun bears have a water hole or a moat at sun bear forest?
September 30th, 2006 at 5:54 pm
AAAHHH! So great for Marcella and SDZ! and all sun bears…
So happy to hear that she is more relaxed this time, practice does make perfect! Suzanne, please continue your updates on this happy little family. It is much appreciated!
October 23rd, 2006 at 6:32 pm
How is Marcella’s cub coming along? Can you give us an update?
November 27th, 2008 at 7:47 am
you really need to get more info on your indangered panda bears you really should have new born pictures of the panda bears becaus they are so sweet
yours sinserly
veronica mccafferty
April 30th, 2009 at 6:18 am
That is an amazing thing to see I am so hapy for you all!