I was thrilled when, whilst walking a regular mammal survey transect line, rustling in some undergrowth turned out to be an adult female Malayan sun bear.
I was even more excited when a few moments later, the bear’s young cub came sliding down a nearby macaranga tree, pausing long enough for me to get some great photos before joining his mother and disappearing into the forest. Formerly widespread across much of Asia, the Malayan sun bear is now becoming very rare because of habit loss and fragmentation. Sun bears are normally solitary animals and so to see two together was a very rare and exciting experience and helps to illustrate the unique nature of Harapan Rainforest and its importance for conserving all types of biodiversity in Indonesia.