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BohoBio Bio
Hello, my name is Bo, and this is my BohoBio Bio
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Name : Bo the Sloth Bear
Scientific Name : Melursus ursinus Home : Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary, northern India Favorite Food : termites, ants, fruit, fungi, honey Personality : shy but aggressive, mostly keep to myself, creature of the night Best Feature : mouth adapted to be high efficiency termite vacuum Biggest Concerns : avoiding tigers & leopards, surviving human impact Shout out : World Land Trust |
WHERE I’M FROM
You may see some of my relatives in zoos around the world, but most sloth bears live in forests or scrubland in India and neighboring Sri Lanka and Nepal. We do well in most types of forests including rainforests and drier forests in the mountains. The dead trees that fall in the forest are the food source and home of our favorite food (termites!).
PHYSICAL TRAITS
We sloth bears look like a typical bear in many ways but have a few distinctive features. Female sloth bears average about 75 kg (165 lbs.) while males average about 110 kg (230 lbs.). We have long, shaggy, dark-colored hair all over our body that is extra-long around our neck and ears. You might think all this hair would be a problem for living in a hot place like India, but we don’t have the under-fur found in most other bears, so we are able to stay cool and comfortable. While our fur is mostly dark, we have an attractive white V-shaped pattern on our chests.
I have long, curved claws that are very effective for tearing into the nests of termites and ants. These claws are also good for climbing trees (I am an excellent tree climber). The name sloth bear came from our being seen in trees where we sort of resemble giant sloths. We also tend to move around at a slow pace like sloths, but don’t be fooled; we can easily run faster than you if we want to !
My mouth is my most impressive feature, in my opinion. I have loose flexible lips and I’m missing my top front teeth. This allows me to form a vacuum-like seal over termite nests and suck them up in large numbers. The noise I make when eating termites can be very loud! I go out termite hunting at night, and I am able to find their nest using my acute sense of smell. I don’t want termites to climb up my nose when I’m eating, so I close my nostrils to prevent that.
I have long, curved claws that are very effective for tearing into the nests of termites and ants. These claws are also good for climbing trees (I am an excellent tree climber). The name sloth bear came from our being seen in trees where we sort of resemble giant sloths. We also tend to move around at a slow pace like sloths, but don’t be fooled; we can easily run faster than you if we want to !
My mouth is my most impressive feature, in my opinion. I have loose flexible lips and I’m missing my top front teeth. This allows me to form a vacuum-like seal over termite nests and suck them up in large numbers. The noise I make when eating termites can be very loud! I go out termite hunting at night, and I am able to find their nest using my acute sense of smell. I don’t want termites to climb up my nose when I’m eating, so I close my nostrils to prevent that.
FAMILY LIFE
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I am a shy animal and mostly go out at night, spending the day in caves or other protected areas. I tend to keep to myself, but interact on occasion with other sloth bears, especially during mating season, which for Indian sloth bears occurs from April to June. Pregnancy lasts around 7 months, and the mother will have one or two cubs at a time. The cubs won’t open their eyes for the first 4 weeks, so their mother needs to keep them safe by hiding them in a cave or other protected area during that time. After the cubs start to walk, their mother will carry them with her on her back when she goes out foraging. The cubs grow quickly and will leave their mother after about 2 – 3 years. |
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PRESENT & FUTURE
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Right now, sloth bears are classified as “vulnerable to extinction” with a population of about 20,000 remaining. We need your help if we are to have a future in which our home is safe and where we are not being hunted for our parts. We are fortunate to have friends like the World Land Trust which is dedicated to protecting our home as well as the homes of other threatened species. So long as the effort of people trying to protect us and our home are greater than the efforts of people trying to kill us or destroy our home, we will have a future presence on our planet. |
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