OSLO ( Reuters) -Six of the world's eight bear species are under threat of extinction after the addition yesterday of the sun bear, the world's smallest type of bear, to a "Red List" which says China's panda is most at risk. The sun bear is threatened partly by poachers   who sell its bile as medicine, said the World Conservation Union which runs the list of the threatened wildlife. "Things are getting worse for all the bear species except the American black bear which is unquestionably increasing," said Simon Smart, senior species adviser for the Union. The addition of the sun bear to the authoritative "Red List" after a major review means the American black bear and the brown bear, found from Europe to Alaska, are the only two of eight species still considered robust  .  The sun bear, found in Asia from Bangladesh to Borneo and weighing up to about 70kg, was rated "vulnerable  " by experts at the Union,which consists of more than 80 governments, conservation groups and scientists. The union said there were several thousand sun bears in the wild. "We estimate that sun bears have declined by at least 30 percent over the past 30 years, and continue to decline at this speed," said Ron Steinmetz, head of the Swiss- based Union's sun bear expert team. Scientists did not change the level of threat to any bear species (except sun bears). Deforestation, loss of habitat to roads and cities and poaching are among risks. The Asian black bear, the sloth bear and the Andean bear were all proved again as vulnerable after reassessment of land-living bears.  The polar, the only species not reassessed, is separately rated as vulnerable. Pandas were regarded again as endangered, one step closer to extinction than vulnerable, in spite of China's protection efforts for the bamboo-eaters. According to the text, pandas.
are in the greatest danger of extinction on the "Red List" are in less danger of extinction now with the China's protection efforts are one step closer to extinction than ever before are not among the 8 bears mentioned in the text