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 Sloth Bear in captivity at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington, DC. The Smithsonian National Zoological Park, commonly known as the National Zoo, is a Zoo located in Washington D Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D
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| Melursus ursinus (Shaw, 1791) |
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Melursus ursinus inornatus Pucheran, 1855 |
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The Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus) is a bear that inhabits the lowland forests of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. George Shaw ( December 10, 1751 - July 22, 1813) was an English Botanist and Zoologist. In Zoology, as in other branches of Biology, subspecies is the Taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a Species. The Sri Lankan Sloth Bear ( Melursus ursinus inornatus) is a subspecies of the Sloth Bear. The Sloth Bear ( Melursus ursinus) also known as the Lip Bear, Though originally classed as a "bear sloth" due to the shape of its claws George Shaw ( December 10, 1751 - July 22, 1813) was an English Botanist and Zoologist. In Scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different Scientific names used for a single Taxon. Meyer is a surname of German origin and may refer to People Adolf Meyer (architect (1881-1921 architect Adolf Bernhard George Shaw ( December 10, 1751 - July 22, 1813) was an English Botanist and Zoologist. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Nepal (नेपाल) is a Landlocked country in South Asia. The Kingdom of Bhutan (buːˈtɑːn is a Landlocked nation in South Asia. ( Bengali: বাংলাদেশ inc-Latn Bangladesh) officially Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island The Sloth Bear is the only bear species classified in genus Melursus. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic [1]
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Description
The body is 150–190 cm long, covered in long, shaggy fur, ranging from auburn to black, with a distinctive "V"-shaped white mark on the chest, a whitish snout and black nose. Fur is a body hair of any non-human Mammal, also known as the Pelage. Black is the Color of objects that do not emit or Reflect Light in any part of the Visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face consisting of its nose mouth and jaw The snout is long with bare lips and a lack of upper incisors, adaptations for its insect-based diet. An adaptation is a characteristic of an Organism that has been favored by Natural selection and Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described The front feet are turned inwards and have non-retractable, curved ivory claws that are adapted for digging. The foot is an Anatomical structure found in many Animals It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows Locomotion. The males, weighing 80–140 kg, are larger than the females, which weigh only 55–95 kg. [1] Its pugmarks are very similar to a human footprint. Pugmark is the term used to refer to the Footprint of most animals (especially Megafauna) The tail is 15-18 cm (6-7 inches) long, the longest in the bear family. [2]
Female Sloth Bears typically give birth to two cubs after a seven month gestation, although singleton and triplet births are also known. Gestation is the carrying of an Embryo or Fetus inside a Female Viviparous Animal. The cubs remain in the den for two to three months, and continue to accompany the mother for at least a further two years. [3]
Because of their warm native habitat, Sloth Bears do not become dormant through the winter, as some more northerly species do.
Etymology
The Sloth Bear does not move as slowly as a sloth, and can easily outrun a human. The living sloths comprise six Species of medium-sized Mammals that live in Central and South America belonging to the families One theory has it that early explorers saw these bears lying upside down in trees and gave them their common name for the similarity to the way a sloth hangs in trees. Another claims that the Sloth Bear gets its name because its normal walk is more of a meandering shuffle. The shaggy coat, light-coloured muzzle and long claws are common qualities of a sloth.
Diet
The Sloth Bear primarily eats ants and termites, breaking into termite mounds with large powerful claws and eating the occupants. Ants are social Insects of the family Formicidae and along with the related families of Wasps and Bees belong to the order The termites are a group of Social Insects usually classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera (but see also taxonomy It may also eat honey, eggs, birds, flowers, tubers, fruits, grains and meat. Honey is a sweet and Viscous fluid produced by Honey bees (and some other species and derived from the nectar of Flowers According to the In most Birds and Reptiles an egg ( Latin ovum) is the Zygote, resulting from Fertilization of the Ovum. Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store Nutrients They are used by Plants to overwinter and regrow the next year The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology.
The animal's fondness for honey has caused it to be nicknamed the Honey bear (a nickname also given to the sun bear); it has been known to scale the occasional tree to knock down a bee honeycomb, which it will then enjoy on the ground below. The Sun Bear ( Helarctos malayanus) is a Bear found primarily in the Tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia. Bees are flying Insects closely related to Wasps and Ants Bees are a Monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea A honeycomb is a mass of Hexagonal Wax cells built by Honey bees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of Honey and [4]
Habitat
It is found in a variety of habitats - from dry grassland to evergreen forests - but has a preference for tropical deciduous forests. Within that category, the Sloth Bear prefers dry deciduous forests and rocky outcrops to wet deciduous forests.
Conservation
Poaching and loss of this habitat and fragmentation of available habitat are the primary threats to the survival of the Sloth Bear on the Indian subcontinent. Predators such as Leopards, wolves, and Tigers may attempt to prey on the young, though the female Sloth Bear with young is exceptionally vicious regarding any threats to her young. The leopard (lɛpɚd Panthera pardus) is an Old World Mammal of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four roaring The grey wolf or gray wolf ( Canis lupus) also known as the timber wolf or simply wolf, is a Mammal of the order Carnivora The tiger ( Panthera tigris) is a member of the Felidae family the largest and the most powerful of the four " Big cats quot in the Genus Adults defend themselves quite well with their claws. Humans hunt the Sloth Bear primarily for its gall bladder, which is valued in eastern medicine. The gallbladder (or cholecyst sometimes gall bladder is a small organ whose function in the body is to store Bile and aid in the digestive process The Sloth Bear's current conservation status is Vulnerable. The conservation status of a Species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future [5]
Attacks on humans
In India and Burma, sloth bears are more feared than tigers, due to their more unpredictable temperament, and are said to be the most aggressive and least predictable of Asian bears. [6] In Madhya Pradesh, sloth bear attacks accounted for the deaths of 48 people and the injuring of 686 others between the years 1989 and 1994. Madhya Pradesh (abbreviated as MP) ( Hindī: मध्य प्रदेश pronounced, Translation: Middle Province) often Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) [7] One specimen, known as the Sloth bear of Mysore, was single handedly responsible for the deaths of 12 people and the mutilation of 2 dozen others before being shot by Kenneth Anderson. The Sloth bear of Mysore was an unusually aggressive Indian Sloth bear responsible for the deaths of at least 12 people and the mauling of two dozen others Kenneth Anderson (1910-1974 was an Indian Writer and Hunter who wrote many books about his adventures in the jungles of South India.
In popular culture
- In the first episode of season 2 of wildboyz, Steve-O fought a Sloth Bear. Wildboyz, which debuted in 2003 on MTV and moved to MTV2 in its third season is a spin-off and follow-up to Jackass. Stephen "Steve-O" Gilchrist Glover (born on June 13, 1974 in Wimbledon London, England) is a daredevil performer and television
- Baloo, the "sleepy old grey bear" of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, is commonly identified as a Sloth Bear, as Baloo is native to the forests of India. Baloo is the fictional "sleepy old grey bear " featured in Rudyard Kipling 's The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Joseph Rudyard Kipling (30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936 was an English Author and poet The Jungle Book (1894 is a collection of stories written by Rudyard Kipling. In the Walt Disney Company's 1967 animated adapation of the book, Baloo's design somewhat resembles a grey-colored version of a grizzly bear, but has the distinctive longer claws of the Sloth Bear. The Jungle Book is a 1967 animated Feature Film, released on October 18 1967. The Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis, also known as the Silvertip Bear, is a Subspecies of Brown bear (Ursus arctos that lives
Further reading
- Wildlife Times: Daroji Bear Sanctuary - A trip report to a premier sloth bear territory(Melursus ursinus)
References
- ^ a b BearPlanet: Sloth Bear
- ^ Brown, Gary (1996). Great Bear Almanac, pp. 340. ISBN 1558214747.
- ^ Bunnell, Fred (1984). in Macdonald, D. : The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File, 96. ISBN 0-87196-871-1.
- ^ National Geographic: Sloth Bear
- ^ Bear Specialist Group (1996). Melursus ursinus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List) created in 1963 is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 8 May 2006. Listed as Vulnerable (VU A2cd, C1+2a v2. 3)
- ^ Perry, Richard (1965). The World of the Tiger, pp. 260. ASIN: B0007DU2IU.
- ^ Wolf Trust - Wolves Killing People - Perspective
External links
- Field Trip Earth - Field Trip Earth is a conservation education website operated by the North Carolina Zoological Society.
- Sloth Bear at Animal Diversity Web
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