# Moon Bear — Facts, Threats & Conservation

*Ursus thibetanus (G. Cuvier, 1823) — family Ursidae*

> The moon bear (Ursus thibetanus), or Asiatic black bear, is a Vulnerable forest bear of South and East Asia recognised by a white chest V or crescent; it is the species overwhelmingly kept on bile farms in tiny cages for gallbladder extraction, though synthetic substitutes make farmed bile medically unnecessary.

**IUCN status:** Vulnerable — and the species that overwhelmingly fills bile-farming cages across Asia  ·  **WARN range:** South and Southeast Asia, East Asia, Himalayas

## Quick facts
| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Adult weight | Roughly 65–150 kg |
| Chest mark | White V or crescent — the source of the name |
| Diet | Omnivorous — fruit, insects, carrion, plant material |
| Main welfare threat | Bile farming and trade in bear parts |
| CITES | Appendix I |
| Closest confusion species | Sun bear — smaller, orange chest crescent |

## Scientific classification
- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Mammalia
- **Order:** Carnivora
- **Family:** Ursidae
- **Genus:** Ursus
- **Species:** Ursus thibetanus

## Conservation status
- **Status:** Vulnerable
- **Population:** No reliable global estimate
- **Trend:** Decreasing
- **Assessed:** 2020
- **CITES:** Appendix I
- The listing captures wild decline from habitat loss, poaching and trade as well as the bile-farming industry, which removes individuals from wild populations and maintains demand for gallbladders taken from poached bears.

## Key facts: Moon Bear
- The moon bear is Ursus thibetanus, the Asiatic black bear — a shaggy, medium-sized bear with a distinctive white chest marking that varies from a V to a crescent.
- It is the species overwhelmingly kept on bile farms across East and Southeast Asia, often in crush cages too small to stand up or turn around.
- Bear bile contains ursodeoxycholic acid, a real medicine — but a synthetic version has been available since the 1950s, so farmed bile is not medically required.
- Bile extraction remains legal only in parts of China; Vietnam banned it in 2005, though illegal extraction persisted and the caged population there has collapsed from thousands to under 200.
- Moon bears overlap the sun bear across parts of Southeast Asia but are larger, shaggier and carry a broad white chest V rather than the sun bear's orange crescent — see /wildlife-guides/sun-bear/ for the comparison.
- Rescued bile-farm bears typically need lifetime sanctuary care: years of confinement cause muscle atrophy, dental damage and stereotypic behaviour that rarely permits release.

## What bile farming does to moon bears
Bear bile farming means keeping a bear in captivity and repeatedly extracting bile from its gallbladder, usually through a permanently open fistula or an implanted catheter. Farmed animals are overwhelmingly Asiatic black bears. The cages are often called crush cages because they prevent the bear from standing upright or turning around — sometimes for twenty years or more.

The welfare cost is cumulative. Bears develop infected wounds around extraction sites, broken teeth from biting bars, and stereotypic pacing or rocking that can persist long after rescue. Bile contains ursodeoxycholic acid, which has legitimate medical uses in treating certain liver and gallbladder conditions. Pharmaceutical-grade synthetic ursodeoxycholic acid has been manufactured since the 1950s. The farming industry persists because of tradition, price and availability in some markets — not because medicine lacks an alternative.

## Moon bear versus sun bear
Both species are Asian forest bears and both appear in the bile trade, but they are not interchangeable. The sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) is the world's smallest bear at roughly 25–65 kg, with a short sleek coat and an orange-to-cream chest crescent. The moon bear is larger — often 65–150 kg — shaggier around the neck, and marked with a bold white V or crescent on the chest.

Their ranges overlap in Southeast Asia, which is one reason the two are confused in news coverage and trafficking cases. For identification and ecology, /wildlife-guides/sun-bear/ covers the smaller species; for bile farming and sanctuary retirement, moon bears dominate the numbers. WARN's moon bear appeal at /appeals/moon-bears/ funds partner work to retire farmed bears into species-appropriate sanctuary care.

## Ecology and behaviour in the wild
Wild moon bears occupy temperate and subtropical forest, from lowland woodland to high mountains. They are omnivores: fruit, nuts, insects, carrion, and occasionally livestock or crops where forest meets agriculture. They climb well and often sleep in trees. In cold parts of the range they den through winter; in the tropics they may remain active year-round.

Home ranges are large and vary with food availability. Females give birth in winter dens to one or two cubs, which stay with the mother for well over a year. Wild bears are shy of people; the bears most people encounter in welfare campaigns are farmed animals that have lost normal fear responses through years of confinement.

## Conservation beyond the farm
The IUCN lists the Asiatic black bear as Vulnerable with a decreasing population trend. Bile farming and trade in bear parts are major threats, alongside deforestation, crop conflict and hunting for meat or gallbladders taken from wild animals. CITES Appendix I prohibits international commercial trade in the species.

Vietnam's legal ban on bile extraction in 2005 did not instantly empty farms — enforcement lagged, and many bears remained caged until sanctuaries and government programmes could absorb them. The remaining Vietnamese caged population is now a fraction of what it was at the peak. China still permits regulated bile farming, holding an estimated several thousand bears. Habitat protection and demand reduction run in parallel: a forest without poaching pressure still loses bears if farms and markets persist.

## What WARN does
WARN publishes this guide for education and is developing support through assessed animal-welfare grants. A species range, source citation or photograph does not establish a recipient or funding agreement. Check /about/where-your-money-goes/#grant-register for published grant and payment records; records not yet published must not be read as zero activity. Browse /appeals/ for the purposes currently available to support.

If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.

## Frequently asked questions: Moon Bear
### What do moon bears eat?
Wild moon bears are omnivores. Their diet includes fruit, berries, nuts, insects, honey, carrion and tender plant material, with the balance shifting seasonally. Near farmland they may raid crops or beehives, which brings them into conflict with people.

### Where do moon bears live?
From Iran and Afghanistan east through the Himalayas, China, the Korean peninsula and Japan, and south through mainland Southeast Asia. They use temperate and subtropical forest, often in hills and mountains, and climb readily.

### Are moon bears dangerous to humans?
Wild moon bears generally avoid people. They are powerful animals and can injure or kill if cornered, surprised or defending cubs, but unprovoked attacks are uncommon. Farmed bears habituated to handlers pose different risks during rescue and transport.

### How long do moon bears live?
Wild lifespan is not well documented for many populations. Bears in sanctuary care commonly reach their twenties; individuals exceeding thirty years have been recorded in captivity. Bile-farm confinement often shortens effective lifespan through disease and untreated injury.

### How big is a moon bear?
Adults typically weigh roughly 65–150 kg, with males larger than females. Shoulder height on all fours is around 70–100 cm. They are substantially larger than sun bears, which usually weigh 25–65 kg.

### Why are moon bears farmed for bile?
Their gallbladders produce bile used in some traditional medicine. Moon bears make up the majority of farmed bile bears because they were readily available, breed in captivity and tolerate confinement long enough for repeated extraction — not because farmed bile is medically irreplaceable.

## Sources
- [IUCN Red List — Ursus thibetanus](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22827/114301773)
- [CITES Appendices](https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php)
- [IUCN Bear Specialist Group — Asiatic black bear](https://www.iucnbsg.org/asiatic-black-bear.html)

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Full guide: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/moon-bear