They have thick, shaggy black fur, huge round ears and short, strong claws that enable them to climb with ease. At up to 220 kg, males typically grow to approximately twice the size of females, which weigh 60 to 130 kg in the wild. However, the females can often be dominant and can usually be distinguished by the thicker ruff of fur around their neck.

Moon bears are found right across the Asian continent from Iran to Japan, mainly living at high altitudes and preferring heavily forested areas. Moon bears are one of the eight bear species in the world and are listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Appendix I-the most critical category of endangerment. At present, there remain only about 25,000 moon bears in the world and over 10,000 of those live within the territory of China, according to data provided by Animals Asia Foundation, a Hong Kong-based charity.