Quick answer
Key facts about sloth bear — size, diet, habitat, and conservation in one place.
Termite specialist
Sloth bears lack upper incisors, creating a gap that lets them suck insects efficiently. They rip open termite mounds with long claws and blow away dirt before vacuuming up colonies. During fruiting season they also eat figs, mangoes, and flowers.
Cub riding and family life
Sloth bear mothers are known for carrying cubs on their backs for several months — unusual among bears. Cubs are born in an underground den and emerge to ride the mother through territory where tigers and leopards pose threats.
Nocturnal forager
Sloth bears are largely nocturnal in areas with human activity, foraging alone except when females travel with cubs. They communicate with snorts, screams, and lip-popping sounds when feeding on insects across forests from Sri Lanka to the Himalayan foothills.
Conservation and conflict
Habitat fragmentation and retaliation for crop raiding threaten sloth bears across India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. 'Dancing bear' traditions that exploited cubs have been largely banned, but road kills, poaching, and forest loss continue to reduce populations.