Lifespan
Wildlife Reserves Singapore Group
Lifespan
Diet
fruit, leaves, honey
Habitat
savannahs, scrublands and grasslands
Range
southern lowlands of Nepal and Bhutan
The sloth bears use their sickle-shaped claws as ‘climbing hooks’ to hoist themselves up trees. They climb not to escape danger, but to get at termite or bee nests. Inserting their long snouts into the nests, they rip them open with their claws. They can voluntarily open and close their nostrils to prevent inhaling dust. They then blow away the earth and suck the termites into their mouths, with much noisy puffings and belchings.
Human-bear conflict occurs when sloth bears enter farmed land to feed on crops like maize and sugar cane. Face-offs are often fatal. The resultant hostility of the locals towards the bears has made bear conservation harder. You can help by supporting projects that aim to aid sloth bears and the people living alongside them.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species.
At relatively low risk of extinction
Likely to become vulnerable in the near future
At high risk of extinction in the wild
At very high risk of extinction in the wild
At extremely high risk of extinction in the wild
Survives only in captivity
No surviving individuals in the wild or in captivity
