Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Sun Bear Babies

Your morning adorable: Sun bear cubs at the San Diego Zoo

Bornean sun bear cub Pagi, right, reassured her brother, Palu, during their public debut at the San Diego Zoo. The cubs were born in October but ventured into the zoo's Sun Bear Forest exhibit for the first time Monday.

Sun bears are the smallest bears in the world and are named for the crescent-shaped markings on their chests. Pagi and Palu are only the third litter of sun bears to be born in North America. The earlier two litters were also born at the San Diego Zoo.

Sun bears are an endangered species; major threats to them in the wild include habitat loss and poaching. It's unknown how many sun bears still exist in the wild.

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