The sloth bear of Sri Lanka

The Sloth bear is the only bear found in Sri Lanka.  

It was first described as a sloth by Portuguese who saw this animal  in South America. Then in the 1800s ,was reclassified as a bear. It is a shaggy, maned dishevelled looking animal, very unique and also found in India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh. 

It is considered a threatened species, as there are fewer than 3000 sloth bears in Sri Lanka according to Field researcher Rohan Peris, with the low estimates going to 500. It is mostly found in the dry zone in north west and south east .

Lanka’s distinct subspecies of the sloth bear, Melursus ursinus inornatus, has no predator,although in India, tigers are known to kill sloth bears. Leopards aren’t as ready to attack. According to Dr Kalinga Padmalal, Senior Lecturer at Open University and considered the father of modern Sri Lankan zoology, it is an apex predator and Leopards may fight them, but generally they stay away. 

Veddas, the indigenous people in Sri Lanka, have their own methods of avoiding bears, which they come across frequently in their hunts and stay away likely places where sloth bears frequent, while foraging for honey. They have distinct warning calls to give warning of their arrival, so that the animal has adequate time to scatter. 

The sloth bear spends its life, foraging for bugs, beetles and termites, breaking open large termite mounds with its claws. It is also known as to be fond of a local fruit known as palu, according to field researcher Rohan Peiris. The claws are used for penetrating termite mounds, which can be dense, like a rock-hard fossil. Once they’ve cut open a fissure, they suck out the bugs through a gap in the teeth, aided by the tongue, almost like a vacuum. It is an interesting sight. 

Veddas say that they fear bears more than elephants because according to them, “an elephants will kill you fast, but a bear will leave you crippled for life.” Many a Vedda or villager whose had an unfortunate encounter have lost limbs or eyes or left crippled. 

However, the army once kept an orphaned bear cub in their base camp close to Anuradhapura and the bear was fond of humans, but those raised in captivity will definitely be different.

Sloth bears are the only bears to routinely carry their young on their backs. Unlike the grizzly or polar bear, it is very small. It is also smaller than the black bear. You can see males hanging around a female with Cubs, which is unlike in other bears where the males play no part and will attack a female with Cubs. They are also less territorial and aggressive with each other. 

Dr Padmalal says that studying bear habits would have to take place at night time since it is nocturnal and elusive 

If you are lucky, you can see a sloth bear in Yala and Wilpattu national parks when you visit Sri Lanka.