Malayan+Sun+Bear

// Helarctos malayanus // "Malayan Sun Bear"  Did you know that bears can live in the rainforest? Well the Sun Bear can. They live for about twenty years. You can also have these bears as pets. If you choose to get one as a pet, get one when it is young. As they grow older, they become badly tempered. Sun Bears are located in the Chinese rainforest and are becoming endangered. So, please don’t harm this unique creature. Our animal is a mammal. A mammal is an animal that has hair, can produce milk, give birth to off-springs (not usually eggs), and are warm-blooded. The name of our animal is the Malayan Sun Bear. The specific scientific name is //Helarctos malayanus.// The sun bear is the smallest of all bears. The males weigh between 60-190 pounds! The female is 20% smaller than the male. They are omnivorous creatures. Those are the specific characteristics that classify the Sun Bear into the mammal category.

Different animals have specific characteristics that make in unique. An animal’s characteristics help scientists to see what kind of category it fits into. The Malayan Sun Bear goes into the mammal category. They are primarily nocturnal. These types of bears build their nests into branches to nap and “sunbathe” during the day. Malayan Sun Bears’ jaws are disproportionately large. Breaking open hard fruit such as coconuts are why Sun Bears have such big jaws. Sun Bears also have an extraordinarily long tongue to get insects out of logs. Sun Bears have flatter teeth and their canines are long enough to protrude through their lips. Most scientists conclude that a bear is a Malayan Sun Bear because it is smaller and rounder than other bears. Sun Bears are black with short, smooth fur. Malayan Sun Bears have a whitish or orange chest mark and a muzzle. They are omnivores. This means, they eat both plants and animals. The Malayan Sun Bear eats fruits, insects, small mammals, and birds. The Sun Bear has a highly developed sense of smell and a wet nose like a dog. The Malayan Sun Bear mates with one bear for the rest of its life. The litter of a Sun Bears usually contains two cubs. The Malayan Sun Bear has its own unique characteristics and from this paper, you can see what they are.

 Here is the Sun Bear Chili Recipe... Ingredients: Equipment: How to do it: Variations: 
 * 5 to 8 pounds pork shoulder (a pain in the neck to work with because of the layers of fat and connective tissue running through it, but it's flavorful and moist - all that fat! - and holds up under long cooking)
 * 5 medium-to-large onions
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">chopped garlic (I used maybe six big cloves, but you can use more)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">lots of dried chilis (I've used various combinations of pasillas, Californias, New Mexicos, Negros, chipotles, guajillos, puyas, and those evil bright red Thai chilis. Note that at least one of these - I think New Mexicos - comes in both hot and mild versions. Using some of the sweeter and milder chilis gives a nice base from which to build the heat of the chilis)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">chicken or pork or beef broth
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">one small can chipotles in adobo sauce
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">one 28 oz can of diced tomatos
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">salt
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">spice grinder (I have a coffee grinder used only for chopping spices)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">a sharp enough knife to make it EASY to cut up all that pork
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">nonreactive Dutch oven or other heatproof pot (I used a 7 qt Le Crueset pot)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">an oven with a timer
 * 1) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
 * 2) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Grind enough chilis to wind up with 12 to 15 tablespoons of chili powder.
 * 3) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Chop the onions and garlic.
 * 4) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Cut up the pork shoulder into small pieces.
 * 5) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Sautee the onions and garlic in vegetable oil.
 * 6) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Add the pork and lightly brown it. This will take a few minutes, depending on how much pork you have.
 * 7) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Add the chili powder and salt to taste; stir thoroughly.
 * 8) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Add the can of tomatoes; stir.
 * 9) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">If you're sure it's necessary, add a few ounces of broth to ensure that there is enough cooking liquid, but you probably won't need to. I could have omitted this.
 * 10) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Add at least half the can of chipotles (more if you like).
 * 11) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Set the oven timer for six hours.
 * 12) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Cover the pot and put it in the oven.
 * 13) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Go to sleep. The chili will be done when you wake up.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">More onions. The best batches I've made had more onions in the onion-to-meat ratio than the batch that won in 2000.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Start the chili by frying some bacon or smoked bacon, then cook the onions and garlic in the bacon fat. This adds another note of complexity and smokiness to the flavor.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Vary the chili mix.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Throw in a splash of sherry. I'm pretty sure I did this a couple of times in previous batches; if so, I probably used a sweet dessert sherry rather than a dry one.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Try it with cumin. :-)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Grind the chilis and cut up the pork a couple of days in advance and make the chili powder plus some salt a dry rub. Then pick up with cooking the onions and browning the pork.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This recipe should work fine with the right cut of beef, but talk to a butcher about what that might be.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Cook the chili a day or so before you intend to serve it

Taylor, Jillian, Joe, and Ben Period 5