The sloth bear, Ursus ursinus, also known as the Stickney bear or labiated bear, is a nocturnal insectivorous species of bears found wild within the Indian Subcontinent. The sloth bear evolved from ancestral brown bears during the Pleistocene and shares features found in insect-eating mammals through convergent evolution. The population isolated in Sri Lanka is considered a subspecies. Unlike brown and black bears, sloth bears have lankier builds, long, shaggy coats that form a mane around the face, long, sickle-shaped claws, and a specially adapted lower lip and palate used for sucking insects. Sloth bears breed during spring and early summer and give birth near the beginning of winter. They feed on termites, honeybee colonies, and fruits. Sloth bears sometimes attack humans who encroach on their territories. Historically, humans have drastically reduced their habitat and diminished their population by hunting them for food and products such as their bacula and claws. These bears have been used as performing pets due to their tameable nature.
In Zoo Tycoon (Xbox)[]
The sloth bear is an animal available for adoption in Zoo Tycoon (Xbox) via DLC.
Zoopedia[]
The sloth bear differs from the rest of the species in the Ursidae family with its long, furry hair dressing and weakness for termites. The coat is black and the nose is cream colored. On the chest is a V-shaped mark. The adult sloth bear weighs up to 140 kg and becomes up to 40 years in captivity.
The animal's current status is unknown, but considered vulnerable as the habitat is damaged by deforestation and grazing livestock.
Fun Facts[]
- The sloth bear, as the name suggests, has large, protruding lips, and lacks front teeth in the upper jaw. This allows it to suck up termites as a vacuum cleaner, which is heard throughout hundred meters away!
- The sloth bear is the only bear that carries its young on its back: a property it shares with other termite and antiretrophic animals.
- Unlike many other bears, the sloth bear doesn't go into hibernating den, but is active all year round.
- The English zoologist Georg Shaw, who first described the bear in 1791, believed that the sloth bear was a sloth! It would take two years before another natural scientist, Bernhard Meyer, corrected the mistake.
- The sloth bear can, despite its appearance, become aggressive if threatened. Then it puts itself on the hind feet and shows its long claws - it has sometimes frightened away the tigers!
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