Sloth bears are considered vulnerable animals. They are threatened by habitat loss and are sometimes captured for use in performances or hunted because of their aggressive behavior and destruction of crops.
All rights reserved. A sloth bear photographed at Sunset Zoo in Manhattan, Kansas. Common Name: Sloth Bear. Scientific Name: Melursus ursinus. Type: Mammals. Diet: Omnivore.
Group Name: Solitary. Size: 5 to 6 feet; tail: 2. Weight: to pounds. Size relative to a 6-ft man:. Least Concern Extinct. All rights reserved. Animals News. How to make peace with the world's deadliest bears Sloth bears feed on ants and termites, but often attack people when startled. The animals look unassuming and even cute, but they startle easily and have large claws. Gloria Dickie is a journalist based in British Columbia, Canada.
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They apparently favor drier forests and have been reported to prefer areas with rocky outcrops. Most sloth bears are found in India and Sri Lanka, but they have also been reported from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan. Mating occurs in May, June, and July.
In captivity, mating pairs come together for only one or two days during which time there may be considerable vocalizing and fighting. Gestation lasts from six to seven months. One or two cubs rarely three are born in each litter in an underground den. They are born weighing about 1 pound 2 kilograms , open their eyes at about 2 to 3 weeks old and start to "walk" around 4 weeks.
Cubs will nurse for about a year. After emerging from the den at around 9 to 12 weeks, cubs stay with their mother for approximately two to three years before heading off on their own --a long time in comparison to other bears. Sloth bears are the only bears to routinely carry their young on their backs as a primary mode of transportation; the cub clings to the extra shag of fur "saddle" on the mother's back until it is 6 to 9 months old.
Many other animals that primarily consume ants also carry their young on their backs. Sloth bears are sexually mature at age 3, but are rarely mothers until later in life.
They breed once every three years, more often if they have not given birth or have lost their cubs. Sloth bears exhibit low fecundity and high infant mortality.
Fifty-three percent of males and 38 percent of females die as cubs. These bears adapt their sleep-wake cycle to their environment and may be on a nocturnal, diurnal or crepuscular schedule depending on how many other bears, people or predators share their habitat.
In protected areas, for example, sloth bears may be more active during the day. Sloth bears are typically active for about eight to 14 hours each day, and they do not hibernate.
At the Zoo, they tend to keep a crepuscular schedule, meaning they are active in both the morning and evening but sleep midday and overnight. About 20, or fewer total sloth bears remain in the wild. However, no reliable large-scale population survey has been conducted. It is estimated that their population has declined by 30 to 49 percent in the last 30 years primarily due to habitat loss, but also because of poaching for parts, capture for trade and elimination as pests.
Habitat is being transformed into human settlements, agriculture, plantations of teak and eucalyptus, and fuel wood and timber. Once abundant, sloth bears have steadily lost ground due to habitat destruction and fragmentation, hunting and capture.
Their world was very different years ago; extensive habitat remained, human settlements were scattered and relatively few bears were hunted. Today, they inhabit one of the world's most crowded regions. Poachers kill bears to harvest their gall bladders and other parts for use in traditional Asian medicine. The bile from their gall bladders is used in shampoo, eye drops, wine and medicine thought to cure liver disease and heart disease, improve eyesight and decrease high blood pressure.
The same substance, ursodeoxycholic acid, can be produced in the laboratory, and this synthetic version has proven to be a safer and more humane alternative for medical use.
Other sloth bears are captured for use as sideshow animals called "dancing bears. In the process of poaching the cubs, the mother bear is killed. The cubs' teeth are then removed, and a metal ring is inserted into their muzzle with a rope tied to the end. When the rope is pulled, the bear stands up in pain and "dances.
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