One of the 8 bears on WAnimals
Mammals · Carnivora · Ursidae
Melursus ursinus
At high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term.
It is the only bear specialised almost entirely in eating ants and termites, able to close its nostrils at will and use an extremely mobile snout as an effective suction tube.
Weight
55 kg – 140 kg
Size
1.5 m on average
Life expectancy
20 years
Diet
Insectivore
Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.
Activity
Nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Moderate
AI-generated images: illustrations, not photographs.
Sources consulted: Britannica; UCSD Perinatal Discovery; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); International Association for Bear Research and Management; PMC (habitat occupancy Chitwan study); Animal Diversity Web
The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented — showing 10 of 20.
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Sloth Bear — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
The sloth bear is classified as vulnerable. Organisations such as the IUCN, WWF and the Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programmes is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 10 protected areas — one reason why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Based on what we already know about sloth bear.
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