With the help of extremely specialized claws, sloths eat, sleep, breed and give birth all while dangling from the tallest branches of cecropia trees. The bears are left without places to search for food, and will forage garbage and crops in an attempt to survive. Sloth bears are distinguished from Asian black bears by their lankier builds, longer, shaggier coats, pale muzzles and white claws. Bhutan. Brown to rust-color coats do occur occasionally. The Sri Lankan sloth bear is found only on the island of Sri Lanka in lowland forests. The sloth bear is a small bear1which gets its name from its long thick claws and ability to hang upside-down2. Both have three toes on each hind limb. Aswail The sloth bear (Melursusursinus) is a well-known myrmecophagous bear species endemic to the Indian subcontinent. belly and underlegs are nearly bare. rarely, sloth bears have been reported as having three. in late Spring/early Summer, with the cubs being born six to seven months later. The cubs stay in their In fact, theyre agile bears that can run faster than a human and will attack if surprised. floppy; they have very good hearing. Sloth bears do not fish like brown bears, nor do they hunt like polar bears or graze. They feed predominantly on termites and ants and employ a well-evolved method to dig them out. In recent years, the sloth bear population has decreased significantly as a result of hunting, particularly for food, claws, and bacula, as well as habitat loss. Sloth bear information, pictures and facts. The bear is often black, but reddish animals have been seen. Their 4-inch-long curved claws are also designed for digging for grubs and tearing apart termite mounds. The muzzle is usually yellowish-white to the eyes, sometimes including the eye-lids. with their mother through their adolescence, which lasts approximately 2 years. Sloth bears are a bit misleading by name. The Sloth Bear survives in a variety of habitats from grassland to forest. You won't find a richer Indian nature safari! Sows carry young bears on their backs—probably the only bear to do that. The names used to distinguish the sloths are somewhat of a misnomer. Baloo (Kipling) Adult sloth bears are medium-sized bears, weighing around 130 kg (290 lb) on average, though weight can range variously from 55 to 124 kg (121 to 273 lb) in females and from 80 to 192 kg (176 to 423 lb) in males. The This adaptation also allows them to use their lower incisors to scrape away bark from trees to get at the insects below. 42 while nursing. Their long, curved claws are used for penetrating nest mounds, which can be rock-hard. shaggy coat. cream-colored U shaped patch on their chest. The Sloth bear is extremely dangerous to human and the casualty rates are higher than that of the tiger. Look for Bengal tigers and other exotic animals as we discover India’s wild side, on this in-depth exploration of three premier national parks. A cream-colored V or Y shape usually marks their chests. Sloth bears are nevertheless capable of galloping faster than a person can run. The sloth bear lives in forest & grassland habitat. The jaws of the sloth bear on the other hand, are not well evolved for killing megafauna at all anatomically, with nearly laterally compressed teeth and the weakest jaws of any bear. Sloth bears have shaggy, dusty-black coats; pale, short-haired muzzles; and long, curved claws which they use to excavate termites and ants. Discover the insect-eating bear from India. bears have a number of vocalizations, but their purpose is not understood. Tree Climber . Lip bear. Jungle joker The mating season occurs in April to June. However, the bears have also been witnessed in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sloth Bear and Human Interaction. The To prevent termites and ants from crawling into their noses to defend their nests, the sloth bear’s nostrils can close tightly as a barrier. Sloth Bears are shiny black, with a large cream to white ‘V’ on the chest (often absent in Sri Lankan bears). Honey bear Sloth bears may have an adorable furry façade – but they are the deadliest bears around. Sloth bears typically breed in late spring and summer and tend to give birth at the start of winter. It has also been called “labiated bear” because of its long lower lip and palate used for sucking … 4.50 to 6 feet (1.40 to 1.80 metres) Key features. Sows (females) give birth to 1 to 2 cubs after a gestation period of 210 days. teeth, as it grinds away the enamel. Reproduction. The sloth bear's ears are large and The sloth bear has long claws, which it cannot retract (pull in). We're Proud of the Reputation We’ve Earned, Homepage Image: Grizzly bear mother & Cub, © Ingo Arndt / Minden Pictures, Please send me a free 160-page catalog of the World's Greatest Nature Journeys, /know-before-you-go/asia-the-pacific/india/wildlife-guide/sloth-bear/. Females are smaller than males, and have more fur between the shoulders. If anything, a sloth bear’s long claws are a detriment to climbing. Behind their heads, they have a When feeding, the bears make loud, sucking Long claws. The sloth bear's claws are terrible weapons (about four-inches long according to the Great Bear Almanac, which would allow the sloth bear to lacerate the gorilla's thin skin without much difficulty). Lanka. The sloth is almost entirely arboreal, spending over 95 percent of its existence high up in the trees of Central and South America. The sloth bear is unique among bears as it has only 40 adult teeth. Fast Facts Class. Sloth bear, (Melursus ursinus), also called honey bear, Hindi bhalu, forest-dwelling member of the family Ursidae that inhabits tropical or subtropical regions of India and Sri Lanka.Named for its slow-moving habits, the sloth bear has poor senses of sight and hearing but has a good sense of smell. With huge claws and a bad temper, sloth bear vs tiger battles can often result in the tiger retreating. They are also smaller and sometimes lack the broad white chest blaze. Sloth bear muzzles are thick and … It is distinguished by long, rough fur around its rear, shoulders, neck and ears. Reproduction for the sloth bears is a fairly standard affar. Sloth bears are mainly nocturnal.During the day they sleep in caves, especially caves by river banks.. Exceptionally large specimens of females can scale up to 124 kg (273 lb) and males up to 192 kg (423 lb). permanent teeth. sounds which can be heard for many miles. The two middle, upper incisors do not grow in with the rest of the permanent teeth. The sloth bear is unique among bears as it has only 40 adult teeth. defenses of the termites which make up a large portion of their diet. The cubs have Their claws are bone-color. Sloth bears can reproduce between the ages of 3 to 4 years. Very The males are larger than the The cubs have 42 while nursing. Threats To Sloth Bears. Sloth bears can climb trees to reach fruit or to gain access to a beehive. Sloth bears have very long, sickle-shaped claws that grow to a length of up to eight centimetres and look like the claws of a sloth. They use their claws to turn over rocks and logs and can dig to depths of 5 feet in search of insect colonies. Their claws are larger than most bear species. The claws of the sloth bear are sickle-shaped, and deeply curved. and measure anywhere from 60-75 inches in length. The average weight of sloth bears from the nominate subspecies in Nepal was 95 kg (209 lb) in females and 114 kg (251 lb) in males. The bare foot-soles are brown, as are the eyes. Sloth bears are distinguished from Asian black bearsby their lankier builds, longer, shaggier coats, pale muzzles and white claws. 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