It is found in the lowland tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia. Its coat is made of short, sleek, black hairs. Because sun bears are rare in the wild, little information is available about their behavior or their current numbers in the wild. Sun bears originally inhabited Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India. They are now believed extinct in India and possibly in Bangladesh.
Habitat loss is the primary threat to the sun bear.
A burgeoning human population in southeast China, for example, results in the destruction and fragmentation of previously wild areas. No population estimate has been determined for the sun bear, but scientists are certain that its numbers are steadily declining due to habitat loss and poaching. Sun bears are also threatened by a growing trade in bears and bear parts. Sun bears are killed for food and fur and trapped for sale as pets. They are also increasingly killed for their gall bladders, an important ingredient in traditional Asian medicines.