Game Animals of India, etc. 



its hide is elsewhere protected must doubtless render 

 those weapons of offence innocuous. Fruits of various 

 kinds, as well as the fleshy flowers of trees like the 

 mohwa, which at times fall in showers on the ground, 

 form no inconsiderable portion of the food of sloth- 

 bears. And being, like most of their kind, expert 

 climbers, these animals ascend trees not only in search 

 of fruits and honey, but also to levy toll on the con- 

 tents of the pots hung by the natives on the trunks 

 of the date-palm to receive the sweet juice from which 

 a fermented liquor is manufactured. According to 

 native reports, the bears, being clumsy creatures, not 

 only drink the liquor, but smash a considerable number 

 of the pots, and at times become helplessly intoxicated 

 from the effects of the fermented palm-sap. 



The presence of sloth-bears in a district where there 

 are fruit-trees or date-palms is indicated by the marks 

 of their claws as they ascend and descend the stems ; 

 their claw-marks being likewise visible where they have 

 been digging for white ants. Many of the latter, as 

 well as wood-boring orrubs, are drawn out from their 

 retreats by the sloth-bear's power of suction ; the 

 animal in this operation first giving a great expiratory 

 puff from its nose, which is placed close to the nest or 

 hole, in order to clear away the dust, and then taking 

 an equally deep inspiration. The sound of these 

 respiratory movements is audible at great distances. 



The visual powers of these creatures are by no 

 means strong, and since their hearing is but little 

 better, it is not difficult to approach them within a 

 short distance, when their strange antics and uncouth 

 gambols may be watched. When feeding on a hill- 

 side and suddenly disturbed by an intruder, they are 

 said to show no hesitation in rolling headlong into the 

 valley below. 



Although exterminated or much reduced in numbers 

 in many districts where they once abounded, sloth-bears 

 are still common over a large portion of India. Three 



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