Sun bears are brilliant climbers. They use their curved, strong claws to scramble up trees with surprising speed. They spend a lot of time up in the canopy, sleeping in nests made of bent branches and looking for fruit, honey and insects.
The sun bear's most extraordinary feature is its tongue. It is extraordinarily long — up to 25 centimetres — and thin, perfect for poking into bee hives and insect nests to lick out honey and grubs. The bear also has very thick skin around its face, which protects it from bee stings while it raids a hive.
Despite being the smallest bear, the sun bear is remarkably strong for its size. It can tear apart a rotting tree trunk with its claws looking for termites and beetles. It also has a powerful bite — one of the strongest, relative to body size, of any bear.
Sun bears have an unusually expressive face. Scientists have discovered that they copy each other's facial expressions when they meet, showing wide 'play faces' or relaxed smiles. This kind of facial mimicry was thought to only happen in great apes and humans — which makes sun bears fascinatingly unusual.