The Sloth bear, Melursus ursinus, once mistakenly classified as a sloth, is identifiable by its shaggy black coat and Y shaped patch of cream fur on its chest, muzzle and eyes and its highly specialised snout. The IUCN Bear Specialist Group has identified the Sloth Bear as the most vulnerable of all bear species and threatened with extinction.
Distribution, Population and Range: The Sloth bear resides in forested areas of Sri Lanka, India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal. This number of sloth bears remaining in the wild has declined dramatically and whilst exact numbers aren’t available it is estimated that the population ranges between 7,000-10,000. The size of the home range varies with the abundance of food to be found within that region. Whilst little research has been conducted into the extent of the home range, it has been established that these bears do like to share it with other members of their species.
Physical Characteristics: Whilst size and weight of the Sloth bear varies with availability of food, they average a length of 140-170 centimetres, a height of 85 centimetres and a weight between 125-145 kilograms as an adult, the male being larger.
In accordance with their highly specialised diet the facial and dental structure of the sloth bear has undergone major evolutionary change, whereby the muzzle protrudes, the nostrils can be voluntarily closed and the front incisors are absent, the bony palate behind them having been replaced by a hollowed cavity. Together these adaptations allow the Sloth bear to utilise its mouth and lips as a suction device to ingest its preferred meal, termites.
To assist in digging for food and climbing trees their feet are equipped with long curved claws. Their gait, whilst slow and shuffling can become quite rapid if endangered.
Diet: In the tropics, termites abound and the Sloth bear has a ready supply of food. Sloth bears will however forage for other foods including honey, fruit, berries, cultivated sugar cane, yams and vegetation. They are also known to eat carrion yet are not predatory in nature. Whilst they prefer to feed at night, Sloth bears are not nocturnal and can be observed feeding during the day. It is reported that the sucking sound made during feeding is loud enough to be heard 300 metres away.
Hibernation: Hibernation has not been observed in the Sloth bear, probably as a result of the annual availability of food sources. It does however enter a period of lethargy late in the year.
Family Life: Mating occurs at different times and with varied frequency depending upon where the population resides. In Sri Lanka breeding appears to occur all year around whilst in India the breeding period is restricted to June and July. After a gestation of 6 to 7 months, the cubs are born in the dry season (December to January). It has been suggested that the Sloth bear is capable of delayed implementation if a food shortage is experienced.
Sloth bears give birth to one or two 300-500 gram cubs. The mothers are particularly attentive and young cubs are often seen clinging to the mother’s back as she forages in the forest. Carrying cubs on her back is necessary as Sloth bears must travel long distances in search of termite mounds and can only stay feeding at one until such time as the soldier ants attack forces her to move on in search of another. Unlike many other species of bear, the female tolerates the male around the young, and he appears never to display threatening or predatory behaviour towards them.
If the cub survives the first year of life it will stay with the mother for 2 to 3 years. Due to a lack of research estimates on cub mortality is nonexistent although it is believed that the survival rate is dependent upon the mother’s skill.
Conservation Status: The Sloth bear is listed on Appendix 1 of CITES, as a species that cannot be traded commercially.
Threats: Sloth bears share a habitat with many predatory carnivores such as tigers, leopards and wild dogs and are constantly under pressure from natural predation. Loss of habitat and illegal poaching for the animal trade has taken a serious toll on Sloth bear numbers to the point it is estimated that less than 10,000 remain in the wild today.
The Sloth bear is at the heart of the dancing bear trade and cubs are often sold as pets by Kalander gypsies. It is reported that despite protection afforded these bears under India’s Wildlife Protection Act 1972, up to 1,000 sloth bears are kept in captivity as dancing bears and 100 cubs are poached annually to replenish and expand the supply.
Free the Bears Fund continues to campaign against the continuation of the dancing bear trade and refutes the argument that this is a cultural tradition that should be respected and allowed to continue. Dancing bears are seen frequently at major tourist centres in India, particularly Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. The Fund realises that this so-called ‘tradition’ is supported primarily by tourists, who delight in seeing these bears perform. The Fund therefore urges travellers to become aware of the torturous process involved in training these bears: the painful piercing of the sensitive snout in order to thread ropes and chain through the perforation, the removal of teeth without an anaesthetic, and the placement of tender paws on hot plates in order to train the bear to “dance”. As a result of such treatment these bears, which are capable of living up to 25 years in the wild, rarely live to be 10 once captured, succumbing to infection, malnutrition and stress. When travelling in these countries we urge you to consider what entertainment you support and the hidden suffering that must be endured to provide it.
