Sloth Bear

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Sloth Bear

Sloth Bear in captivity at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington, DC

Conservation status

Vulnerable (IUCN)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Ursidae
Genus:	Melursus
Species:	M. ursinus

Binomial name

Melursus ursinus
(Shaw, 1791)

The Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus) is a nocturnal bear, inhabiting the lowland forests of India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It has also been sighted in Bhutan.^{[citation needed]} The Sloth Bear is the only bear species classified in genus Melursus.

Its body is covered in long, shaggy fur, ranging from auburn to black, with a distinctive "V"-shaped white mark on the chest, a whitish snout and black nose. The snout is long with bare lips and a lack of upper incisors, adaptations for its insect-based diet. The front feet are turned inwards and have non-retractable, curved ivory claws that are adapted for digging. The males are larger than the females; reaching a height of 6 feet (1.8 m) and a weight of 300 pounds (140 kg).

The Sloth Bear does not move as slowly as a sloth, and can easily outrun a human. One theory has it that early explorers saw these bears lying upside down in trees and gave them their common name for the similarity to the way a sloth hangs in trees. Another claims that the Sloth Bear gets its name because its normal walk is more of a meandering shuffle.

Its pugmarks are very similar to a human footprint.

1 Diet
2 Habitat
3 Conservation
- 3.1 Entertainment and concerns
4 Trivia
5 Further reading
6 References
7 External Links

[edit] Diet

The Sloth Bear primarily eats ants and termites. It may also eat honey, eggs, birds, flowers, tubers, fruits, grains and monkeys.

The animal's fondness for honey has caused it to be nicknamed the Honey bear (a moniker also given to the sun bear); it has been known to scale the occasional tree to knock down a bee honeycomb, which it will then enjoy on the ground below [1].

A wild Sloth Bear atop a tree in Sri Lanka

[edit] Habitat

It is found in a variety of habitats - from dry grassland to evergreen forests - but has a preference for tropical deciduous forests. Within that category, the Sloth Bear prefers dry deciduous forests and rocky outcrops to wet deciduous forests.

[edit] Conservation

Poaching and loss of this habitat and fragmentation of available habitat are the primary threats to the survival of the Sloth Bear on the Indian subcontinent. Predators such as the Leopard, wolves, and the Tiger may attempt to prey on the young, though the female Sloth Bear with young is exceptionally vicious regarding any threats to her young, and can be known to kill an adult male tiger. Adults defend themselves quite well with their claws. Humans hunt the Sloth Bear primarily for its rectum, which is valued in eastern medicine. The Sloth Bear's current conservation status is Vulnerable.^[1]

[edit] Entertainment and concerns

The neutrality of this article is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.

The Sloth Bear is also known in circuses as a "dancing bear".^[2] They can commonly be seen on the streets of India, leashed by Qalandar Gypsies dancing for tips.^[2] The Gypsies put a rope through their nose, leading to infection.^{[citation needed]} Many conservationists believe this is animal cruelty.^{[citation needed]} Children also fight with the bears as another form of entertainment.^{[citation needed]}