FaunaHub
VUVulnerablePartial review

Sloth Bear

Melursus ursinus

Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), a shaggy bear with a long muzzle.

Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), Sri Lanka.

Image: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

At a glance

IUCN category
VU · Vulnerable
Animal group
Mammals
Population trend
Decreasing
Last verified

Conservation overview

The sloth bear is a shaggy, insect-eating bear of South Asia with a long muzzle and pale chest mark. It is assessed as Vulnerable.

It noisily sucks up ants and termites through a gap in its front teeth.

Range & habitat

Forests and grasslands of the Indian subcontinent.

Major threats

Threats below are drawn from the authoritative sources listed on this page. For the current, complete assessment, see the IUCN Red List.

  • Habitat loss and fragmentation
  • Human-bear conflict
  • Poaching and past capture for performance

Why it matters

A specialised insect-eating bear of the Indian subcontinent, the sloth bear is a flagship for South Asian forests and for reducing dangerous human-bear conflict.

Gallery

Close-up of a sloth bear's long-snouted face.

Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus).

Image: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources

Sources for Sloth Bear

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the sloth bear eat insects?
It has a long, mobile snout and a gap in its front teeth, letting it noisily suck up ants and termites from their nests — its lips can close off its nostrils to keep insects out.
Why is the sloth bear Vulnerable?
Published assessments cite habitat loss and fragmentation, conflict with people, and poaching (and a history of capture as 'dancing bears'). See the IUCN Red List.

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