Studies Show Bears’ Diverse Ecological Roles

In Indonesia’s Riau Province, the restoration project Restorasi Ekosistem Riau (RER) hosts both Sun bears (Helarctos malayanus) and Moon bears (Ursus thibetanus), demonstrating forest diversity and restoration success. The two species occupy distinct ecological niches—Sun bears are smaller, largely arboreal, and marked by a sun-shaped chest patch, while Moon bears are larger, more associated with montane or temperate habitats and bear a crescent chest patch—so they perform different roles in peat-swamp and montane forests and require tailored conservation strategies. Separately, a multi-institutional study led by Holly Gamblin estimates polar bears leave roughly 7.6 million kilograms of prey remains annually on sea ice, provisioning at least 11 known scavenger species and transferring marine-derived energy to terrestrial and ice-associated food webs. Researchers warn that polar-bear declines driven by Arctic warming and sea-ice loss could remove this unique carrion subsidy and reverberate across Arctic ecosystems because no other species adequately replaces it. At the same time, Inuit observers in Hudson Bay report locally abundant, healthy bears adapting by hunting seals on tidal flats and belugas, highlighting regional variation and the need to combine scientific and local observations amid ongoing climate risks.