MALAYAN SUN-BHAR.—Helurctos Muluyduus. 
The fur of this animal is particularly fine and glossy, and the hair is shorter than in 
the generality of the Bear tribe. The colour of its fur is a very deep black, with the 
exception of a large semi-lunar shaped patch of white on the breast, and a yellowish- 
white patch on the snout and upper jaw, which afford a striking and curious contrast to 
the uniformly black colour of the fur. The lips and tongue of this Bear are extremely 
flexible, and are capable of being prolonged to an almost incredible extent. It is 
supposed that the great length of its tongue, and the exceedingly flexible power of that 
organ, are intended for the purpose of enabling the animal to obtain the honey from the 
nest of the wild bee, by insinuating its lithe tongue into the apertures of the hive, and 
licking the sweet food from the waxen treasuries. 
The head of the Bruang is rather thick, and the neck is singularly powerful in 
comparison with the size of the head. The eyes are very small, and the iris is of a rather 
pale lilac colour, and tolerably lively in its appearance. It is not a large animal, 
measuring when adult only four feet six inches in length, but it is extremely powerful 
in proportion to its size, being able to grasp and tear from the ground the strongly- rooted 
plantains of Borneo, which are so large that the Bear is hardly able to embrace them in 
its grasp. The claws of the Bruang are extremely long. 
When in its wild state, it is almost entirely a vegetable eater, preferring fruit before 
most articles of diet, and making great havoc among ihe tender shoots of the cocoa-nut 
trees. In some parts of Sumatra, where the villages have been deserted, the cocoa-nut 
groves have been entirely destroy ed by the insatiate appetite of the Bruang. 
As it is easily tamed, it is frequently seen in a state of domestication, and is a very 
amusing and gentle creature, associating freely with children, and earning by its uniformly 
quiet conduct the privilege of unrestricted liberty. Sir Stamford Raffles, who possessed 
one of these Bears, permitted it to live in the nursery, and never was obliged to chain, 
chastise, or otherwise punish the good-tempered animal. Being something of an epicure, 
and often admitted to his master’s table, the Bruang would refuse to eat any fruit except 
mangosteens, or to drink any wine except champagne. It may seem remark able that a Bear 
should display any predilection for fermented liquids, and more so that it should be so 
fastidious as to select champagne as the wine which it honoured with its preference. 
