Chuck Ripper: Sun Bear

Artist: Chuck Ripper
1929 -
Nationality: American
Artwork Year: 1998
Image Size: 12.5 by 14.5 inches
Overall Size: 15 by 17.75 inches
Medium: Gouache on Cold Press Illustration Board

Standing less than three feet at the shoulder, the Sun Bear is among the world's smallest bears. This curious, intelligent animal is distinguished by its short-haired, blackish coat, which is accented by a pale orange horseshoe-shaped marking on the chest. The Sun Bear also has a peculiar gait, walking with all four legs turned inward, similar to its close cousin the sloth bear. Found in dense tropical forests from northeast India to Vietnam, the Sun Bear is an extremely adept climber, spending its days high in the trees sleeping or sunbathing. Its diet consists primarily of fruit, but it also feeds on insects and small mammals. While feeding, Sun Bears occasionally cause a great deal of damage to coconut palms and cocoa plantations. However, they very seldom harm people. In fact, in the past many people kept Sun Bears as pets. This, however, oftentimes proved to be quite dangerous, especially after the bears matured and became more aggressive. Today, Sun Bears are protected within most of their range, yet their numbers are declining because of habitat loss and intensive hunting by poachers seeking the bears' gall bladders, which are used in traditional Asian medicines. As testimony to the unusual intelligence of these marvelous creatures, Sun Bears in zoos often remove the stones from the walls of their enclosure by using their sharp claws to scrape away the stone's supporting mortar. Captive bears have also displayed the unusual behavior of sucking on their hind feet and whimpering.

This painting originally appeared on the Fleetwood® First Day Cover of the United Nations Endangered Species Series 32¢ Sun Bear stamp issued March 13, 1998.

Artwork Copyright © 1998 Unicover Corporation. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Images of the Artwork may be watermarked and/or digitally watermarked. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the copyright.

Our Stock Number (SKU): XB15901

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