Meet Arataki the Malaysian Sun Bear, Artaki has lived at the National Zoo & Aquarium since 2001. Arataki was bred as part of an Endangered Species Breeding Program. Arataki is special in his own way as his skin has many different markings caused by Melanomas, being a sun bear still have to be super careful of the sun, due to his conditions he has had to undergo many procedures where they inject radioactive gold seeds under his skin near the tumours. The seeds are small pieces of gold that are radiated.

Arataki along with the other members (Otay and Mary-Taronga Zoo) are part of the foundation Free The Bears is an organisation that works with government organisations, charities, conservation organisations to save the bears from the illegal wildlife trade and help to restore numbers to the wild.

The Sun Bear spends most of there time in the trees, making them the most arboreal bear species, they are a key species to the ecosystem around them, they help break logs open, drop and disperse seeds.

They help the nutrient cycle by creating homes for other species. When you see a Sun bear you will always see there nose twitching, there scent is stronger than there eye sight ( 2-3,000 times that of a human)