It’s been a while since I updated you on the progress of Marcella and Bulan, our Bornean sun bear dam and cub (see Suzanne’s blog, Sun Bear Cub Debuts on Exhibit). Things have gone very well for them since they transitioned out to the exhibit in March. Though initially very cautious and often found in close contact with her mother, Bulan has now blossomed into a very independent little bear that is making her presence known.

Compared to our panda cubs, the sun bear cub matures to major milestones much more quickly. At 6 months of age, our San Diego pandas were approximately 8 to 10 kilograms (17 to 22 pounds) in weight, representing a little less than 10 percent of their mother’s weight. Bulan, however, currently weighs in at about 12 kilograms (26 pounds), which represents about 25 percent of her mother’s weight. A six-month-old panda feeds nearly exclusively on mother’s milk, but Bulan, who is still nursing a few times a day, is also stealing her mother’s apples and carrots away whenever she can. Six-month-old pandas can move around on clumsy legs, but Bulan races through her exhibit, climbs like a champ, and likes to take a little dip in the pool with her mother.

Today I had the good fortune of observing the sun bears with a fun enrichment item, a large burlap sack hung on a log. Bulan was first introduced to burlap in her bedroom recently and took to climbing inside the bag. Marcella was seen pushing and prodding the cub through the bag. Staffers were initially concerned, wondering if the cub might be stuck inside. In an effort to extricate her, they opened a jar of peanut butter to entice Marcella out of the area so they could enter the bedroom with the cub. Bulan must have heard that jar open, though, because she immediately crawled out to get her share of the treats. Today, Bulan crawled inside the bag to use it as a type of hammock, and Marcella again played with her by poking and biting her from outside the bag. These two are big fans of burlap!

Sadly, Bulan remains only the second Bornean cub born in captivity in North America. We are hopeful that some other paired sun bears in other zoos will be able to mate soon to increase the population of Borneans in the U.S. As it stands, we have only 20 members of this critically threatened subspecies, and some of them are getting old, while others have not been able to breed for one reason or another.

Danum, our 2004 cub, gives us hope, as we are told he has been getting along with one of the females he now lives with in an oasis nestled in the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas. Next year, he may be mature enough to mate: let’s hope he does. Another two potential mating pairs at other zoos have shown some promise, and we’ll keep our fingers crossed for them, too. The more bear cubs the Borneans are able to produce, the better it is for the subspecies and the more the public will be able to share in the delight of these special creatures.

Suzanne Hall is the senior research laboratory technician for the San Diego Zoo.

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