The sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), also known as the indian bear, is a carnivourous mammal member of the Ursidae family and of the plantigrade category (the animals that walk resting the entire sole of their foot).
The main picture is a photo that I took at London's Natural History museum.
Where does the sloth bear live?
Map link: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melursus_ursinus#/media/File:Sloth_Bear_area.png
The sloth bear lives only in Asia. More precicely, in India and Sri-Lanka.
Its favourite habitats are the jungles and the forests.
How big is the sloth bear?
The sloth bear is 1.80 meters long, 0.90 meters high at the shoulder and weighs 120 kilograms.
Picture link: https://www.dimensions.com/element/sloth-bear
What makes the sloth bear unique?
This bear has big and mobile lips.
This species is very agile; agile enough to be able to climb trees and hang from them using its claws like sloths do in South America. For this reason, and also for its long fur, the English also call it "sloth bear".
The coat of the sloth bear has long fur and is colored black with a white collar-like pattern on the chest.
The paws of the sloth bear are long while the body is massive, which gives it a lanky gait. However, his gait is agile and he has considerable strength.
Is the sloth bear a social or a solitary animal?
Like all other bear species, the sloth bear is an exclusively solitary animal. The few times in which specimens of the same species are encountered together occur when mothers are found with cubs, which are carried on the mother's back.
The baby bears are born after a gestation period of 7 months.
Sloth bears mate between late spring and early summer.
What does the sloth bear eat?
Like all bears, the sloth bear is also an omnivorous species. In his diet there are:
- Insects:
- Ants.
- Termites.
- Fruit.
- Honey.
- Vegetables.
- Egg.
- Dead animals.
Its technique for hunting termites is unique: its puts the lips together forming a sort of "tube" with which it blows inside the hole and it made in the termite mound and then sucks up the termites. This technique is also facilitated by the fact that in this species the 2 central incisors are missing.
Who are the sloth bear's natural enemies?
The main enemy of the sloth bear is the Bengal tiger: the large striped feline is capable of killing an adult sloth bear both to feed on it and to get rid of an intruder in its territory.
Both in India and Sri Lanka the sloth bear clashes with another big cat: the leopard. There are numerous clashes on the island of Sri Lanka between bears and leopards over prey.
The mugger crocodile also often struggles with the sloth bear for the reasons listed above.
What relationship has the sloth bear with humans?
Over the centuries, the sloth bear has been used very often to stage shows. Practice banned today.
Today the total population of the sloth bear is between 10,000 and 20,000 specimens. Despite living in protected areas, the species is today considered vulnerable.
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