A superb encounter with a male Sloth Bear. In India’s Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve the day was drawing to an end when I found this very relaxed male Sloth Bear. Its starting pose was very charming and amusing. I loved the way it sat and crossed his arms in his lap. Almost human-like! After a quick scratch it walked across the top of a dried up waterfall, clambered up the rock face and after checking me briefly it wandered off into the Jungle. A superb encounter with a male Sloth Bear!
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 dig down into nests.