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absent, the bony palate behind them having been replaced by a hollowed cavity.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.
Free the Bears Fund urges you to write letters of protest to the Indian, Turkish
and Bulgarian governments to end what is often viewed as a cultural tradition
but is in fact little more than a barbaric sport.
References: The above has been prepared by reading the information provided by
John Seidensticker and his article “Sloth Bears” (ZooGoer Vol. 28(2), 1999), Don
Middleton on his web-site: www.naturenet.com/bears and the Bear Den at
www.bearden.org. I am also indebted to John Joseph, Asian Regional Manager, WSPA
for information on the dancing bears of India campaign.
|
