A great encounter with a Sloth Bear. We found this relaxed male Sloth Bear in Ranthambhore National Park as the evening was drawing in. It was digging out termites. It scratched at several sites which did not seem too productive before moving away. We left it to its night time adventures. Quite a remarkable species!
Sloth bears adults are medium-sized bears. Males weigh 80 -145 kg whilst females range from 55 to 105 kg. Sloth bear muzzles are thick and long, with small jaws and bulbous snouts with wide nostrils. They have long lower lips which can be stretched over the outer edge of their nose allowing them to suck up large numbers of insects. Sloth bears eat termites, ants and bees which they locate by smell. They use their powerful forearms and long claws to did down into nests. What a great encounter with a Sloth Bear – such charming animals.