# Sun Bear vs Moon Bear: The Two Most Trafficked Asian Bears

*SOUTHEAST ASIA · MAY 21 2026*

> The sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) is the world's smallest bear, with a sleek black coat, a U-shaped cream chest patch and a long tongue; the moon bear (Asiatic black bear, Ursus thibetanus) is larger, has a thick ruff of fur around the neck and a clear V-shaped or crescent-shaped white chest patch — both are Vulnerable, both are trafficked for the bear-bile industry.

The sun bear and the Asiatic black bear (moon bear) are the two most commonly trafficked bears in Asia — for the pet trade, for traditional medicine and for bear-bile farming. Here is how to tell them apart.

## What are the key takeaways from this briefing?
- Sun bear: smallest bear species (40-65 kg), sleek coat, U-shaped chest patch, long tongue.
- Moon bear: medium-sized (100-200 kg), thick ruff, V- or crescent-shaped chest patch.
- Both are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List; both CITES Appendix I.
- Both are heavily trafficked for gall-bladder bile used in some traditional-medicine markets.
- Vietnam's bear-bile farming industry primarily affects moon bears; sun bears are more often trafficked from the wild.

If you have heard of bear-bile farming, you have probably heard of one or both of these species. The **sun bear** and the **moon bear** are the two bears most affected by the bile-farming industry and the wider Southeast Asian bear trade.

WARN's partner-network focus for these bears is Indonesia and Malaysia; other range states such as Vietnam and Cambodia feature as wider search context, and are central to both species' range and to the bile-farming question. Our [briefing on moon bears in Vietnam](/newsroom/moon-bear-bile-vietnam/) covers the bile industry directly.

## How do sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) differ?

- **Size.** 40-65 kg — the world's smallest bear.

- **Coat.** Short, sleek, jet-black.

- **Chest patch.** U-shaped or sun-shaped, cream-yellow.

- **Tongue.** Unusually long for extracting insects, honey and termites.

- **Range.** Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos.

- **Status.** Vulnerable; CITES Appendix I.

## Is it true that moon bear (Asiatic black bear, Ursus thibetanus)?

- **Size.** 100-200 kg — much larger than the sun bear.

- **Coat.** Long, shaggy, with a distinctive thick ruff around the neck.

- **Chest patch.** V-shaped or crescent-shaped (hence "moon bear"), white.

- **Range.** Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Himalayas, Vietnam, China, the Russian Far East, Japan.

- **Status.** Vulnerable; CITES Appendix I.

## How do the bile-farming connection differ?

Both species' gall bladders contain ursodeoxycholic acid, which has long-standing use in some traditional medicine traditions. The synthetic form of the same molecule has been available pharmaceutically for decades. Bile-farming captures bears (most often moon bears in Vietnam, sun bears more often in Indonesia and Malaysia) and surgically extracts bile through a permanent catheter, a procedure now formally prohibited in Vietnam but still ongoing in some neighbouring countries.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has flagged bear-bile farming as a welfare and biosecurity concern. Rescue work focuses on lifetime sanctuary care for retired bile bears, which is where partner sanctuaries WARN intends to support fit in.

## How do rescue outcomes differ?

Most bears rescued from the bile industry or the trafficking trade cannot be released. They have spent years in cages, are habituated to humans, and frequently have skeletal deformities, dental damage and chronic disease. Lifetime sanctuary care is the standard outcome — and is expensive. A single rescued moon bear typically costs £8,000-12,000 per year to keep in a high-standard sanctuary.

Sources: IUCN Red List, CITES, WOAH, UNEP-WCMC.

## Is it true that we need your support to make this happen?

World Animal Rescue Network is at the launch stage of this work. We do not yet have rescue numbers to share — and that is exactly why your support matters now. Every donation helps us put trained teams on the ground, secure veterinary supplies and equipment, and reach the first animals before they are lost.

**[Donate today](/donate/)** to fund our first deployments, or **[sponsor an animal](/sponsor/)** to back a specific species through rehabilitation. You can also **[join the network](/get-involved/)** as a volunteer, fundraiser, or monthly supporter.

## What is this briefing not?

This briefing is not a substitute for the full this subject wildlife guide, not a pet-care manual, and not a first-person field dispatch. It is a desk-researched explainer for people who searched a specific question about this subject. The setting is SOUTHEAST ASIA.

Sun Bear vs Moon Bear: The Two Most Trafficked Asian Bears sits in the newsroom as a guides explainer. It is not a Field notes dispatch from a partner clinic, and it is not a reason to keep this subject. Location context: SOUTHEAST ASIA.

## Who should skip this page?

Skip this page if you need a full conservation status briefing, population context, or a care sheet. A comparison of this subject answers “how do I tell them apart”, not “how do I keep one”. Read the wildlife guide next if you need status, range and sources in one place.

Skip it if you needed veterinary instructions, a travel itinerary, or a fundraising story dressed up as science. The skip is the point: a page that cannot say no is not a guide.

## How does this briefing compare to the full species guide?

This page answers the search in the headline. The wildlife guide answers status, threats, and what is actually known. Use both; do not cite the listicle as if it were the Red List. The sun bear and the Asiatic black bear (moon bear) are the two most commonly trafficked bears in Asia — for the pet trade, for traditional medicine and for bear-bile farming.

  Claims this briefing actually stands behind |
 Takeaway
| Sun bear: smallest bear species (40-65 kg), sleek coat, U-shaped chest patch, long tongue.
| Moon bear: medium-sized (100-200 kg), thick ruff, V- or crescent-shaped chest patch.
| Both are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List; both CITES Appendix I.
| Both are heavily trafficked for gall-bladder bile used in some traditional-medicine markets.

## What is the catch with a short wildlife briefing?

The catch with wildlife listicles is that a true fact can still be the wrong takeaway. “Amazing” is not the same as “safe to keep”, and a number without a source is trivia. Every figure on this page should be read against the cited IUCN or zoo pages, not against a screenshot.

Factory “12 facts” pages elsewhere on the web pad the same three sentences. Here each heading is a real question, each answer is meant to stand alone, and the sources at the end are the audit trail. If a number is not on this page or in those sources, we did not invent it.

## What should you do after reading this?

Use this briefing to answer the question in the title, then go to the species guide for status and sources. If you want to help this subject, fund habitat and enforcement — do not buy the animal. The sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) is the world's smallest bear, with a sleek black coat, a U-shaped cream chest patch and a long tongue; the moon bear (Asiatic black bear, Ursus thibetanus) is larger, has a thick ruff of fur around the neck and a clear V-shaped or crescent-shaped white chest patch — both are Vulnerable, both are trafficked for the bear-bile industry.

If you want to support WARN’s partner work, [donate](/donate/) knowing we are a community interest company, not a registered charity. If you want the animal itself, you have the wrong page.

Read the verdict on the first screen, the skip-if before you share the page, and the sources at the end before you quote a number. That is the whole contract of this briefing.

## What do people ask about this briefing?
### Is this this subject briefing a complete species guide?
No. It is a newsroom explainer for a specific search. Status, range and the full source list live on the wildlife guide where one exists. The briefing is set in SOUTHEAST ASIA. The sun bear and the Asiatic black bear (moon bear) are the two most commonly trafficked bears in Asia — for the pet trade, for traditional medicine and for bear-bile farming.

### Should you keep a this subject as a pet after reading this?
No. Amazing facts are not a care plan. Wild animals belong in wild habitat; buying one, posing with one, or sharing selling ads all worsen the trade. Location context on this page is SOUTHEAST ASIA. The sun bear and the Asiatic black bear (moon bear) are the two most commonly trafficked bears in Asia — for the pet trade, for traditional medicine and for bear-bile farming.

### Who should skip this this subject page?
Anyone who needed veterinary advice, a full IUCN profile, or permission to handle the animal. This page will tell you to leave if that is you. The sun bear and the Asiatic black bear (moon bear) are the two most commonly trafficked bears in Asia — for the pet trade, for traditional medicine and for bear-bile farming.

### What is the one-line answer on this subject?
The sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) is the world's smallest bear, with a sleek black coat, a U-shaped cream chest patch and a long tongue; the moon bear (Asiatic black bear, Ursus thibetanus) is larger, has a thick ruff of fur around the neck and a clear V-shaped or crescent-shaped white chest patch — both are Vulnerable, both are trafficked for the bear-bile industry.

### Where is this this subject briefing set?
The location context is SOUTHEAST ASIA. That is geography for the story, not a claim that WARN runs a programme in every place named. The sun bear and the Asiatic black bear (moon bear) are the two most commonly trafficked bears in Asia — for the pet trade, for traditional medicine and for bear-bile farming.

### Where does WARN work on this subject?
Only claim a programme where this site already names one. This briefing is desk research about this subject in SOUTHEAST ASIA; it does not invent a field team to match the headline. Read the species guide and appeals for funded work.

### Is it true that sun bear: smallest bear species (40-65 kg), sleek coat, U-shaped chest patch, long tongue?
Sun bear: smallest bear species (40-65 kg), sleek coat, U-shaped chest patch, long tongue. The sun bear and the Asiatic black bear (moon bear) are the two most commonly trafficked bears in Asia — for the pet trade, for traditional medicine and for bear-bile farming.

### Is it true that moon bear: medium-sized (100-200 kg), thick ruff, V- or crescent-shaped chest patch?
Moon bear: medium-sized (100-200 kg), thick ruff, V- or crescent-shaped chest patch. The sun bear and the Asiatic black bear (moon bear) are the two most commonly trafficked bears in Asia — for the pet trade, for traditional medicine and for bear-bile farming.

Human-readable page: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/newsroom/sun-bear-vs-moon-bear/