Sloth bear is a nocturnal species of bears that feeds mainly on insects. A sizeable population of these bears is found within the Indian Subcontinent. One can find many of them in Kanha National Park while enjoying a wildlife tour in this region. During the glacial period, these animal species evolved from their ancestral brown bears. An isolated population of sloth bears exist in Sri Lanka and are considered as a sub-species in the country. These animals have lankier builds as compared to their brown and black counterparts. Other features of sloth bears are shaggy coats, sickle-shaped claws, and specially adapted lower lip for sucking insects. Their breeding season is during spring and early summer, and the females reproduce towards the beginning of winter. Diet of these animals are honeybee colonies, termites, and fruits. They are known to attack humans at times when they encroach on their territories.
These bears walk in a shambling motion, setting their feet down noisily. Sloth bears are often capable of galloping faster than the running humans, and may fight for food. These animals are excellent climbers and can reach the top of a tree in search of food and rest. When confronted by their enemies, they prefer to stand their ground rather than climbing trees to escape being attacked. Female sloth bears carry their cubs on their backs until the time the young ones are more than nine months old. This also acts as a great defense against predatory attacks by leopards, tigers, and other bears. Male sloth bears are known to be gentle with cubs. They enter water primarily to play, but are good swimmers. For resting purposes, they make their beds on trees with the help of broken branches, and rest in caves during monsoon showers. There are places like Manipur, Assam, and Mizoram states of India, where the sloth bears co-exist peacefully along with sun bears and Asian black bears. It is believed that the main reason for all these three species not acting aggressively against each other is difference in their habits and diets. Asian elephants and Indian rhinoceros do not tolerate sloth bears in their territory and often charge at them.
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has estimated a population of less than 20,000 sloth bears in the Indian sub-continent. The Indian government has taken adequate measures to protect the population of these bears by banning their use for entertainment and initiating community-based reforestation programmes. Kanha has significant numbers of these animals, along with many others, such as, tigers, leopards, Indian wild dogs, and Barasingha. The resorts in Kanha have well-designed rooms and suites for the accommodation of tourists coming to this region for a vacation. Guests can have a comfortable stay in them while enjoying some wonderful amenities, such as, a multi-cuisine restaurant, massage services, and taxi services for airport transfers and sightseeing tours. Some of these resorts also arrange excursions to the popular places nearby and traditional dance performances by members of the local Gond community on demand.
These bears walk in a shambling motion, setting their feet down noisily. Sloth bears are often capable of galloping faster than the running humans, and may fight for food. These animals are excellent climbers and can reach the top of a tree in search of food and rest. When confronted by their enemies, they prefer to stand their ground rather than climbing trees to escape being attacked. Female sloth bears carry their cubs on their backs until the time the young ones are more than nine months old. This also acts as a great defense against predatory attacks by leopards, tigers, and other bears. Male sloth bears are known to be gentle with cubs. They enter water primarily to play, but are good swimmers. For resting purposes, they make their beds on trees with the help of broken branches, and rest in caves during monsoon showers. There are places like Manipur, Assam, and Mizoram states of India, where the sloth bears co-exist peacefully along with sun bears and Asian black bears. It is believed that the main reason for all these three species not acting aggressively against each other is difference in their habits and diets. Asian elephants and Indian rhinoceros do not tolerate sloth bears in their territory and often charge at them.
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has estimated a population of less than 20,000 sloth bears in the Indian sub-continent. The Indian government has taken adequate measures to protect the population of these bears by banning their use for entertainment and initiating community-based reforestation programmes. Kanha has significant numbers of these animals, along with many others, such as, tigers, leopards, Indian wild dogs, and Barasingha. The resorts in Kanha have well-designed rooms and suites for the accommodation of tourists coming to this region for a vacation. Guests can have a comfortable stay in them while enjoying some wonderful amenities, such as, a multi-cuisine restaurant, massage services, and taxi services for airport transfers and sightseeing tours. Some of these resorts also arrange excursions to the popular places nearby and traditional dance performances by members of the local Gond community on demand.
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