SLOTH-BEAR 



Mi 



Its long shaggy hair, the peculiar shape of its long movable snout, and its 

 short hind-legs make this bear one of the most remarkable of its kind, and as 

 peculiar in its appearance as it is in habits. It generally moves at a quick walk, 

 but when frightened or in a hurry trots away so awkwardly that it appears to roll 

 along the ground. If startled by a shot or other sound, it rolls downhill head- 

 over-heels like other bears ; ascending rocks comes easy to it, and it climbs trees 

 slowly and heavily, as is shown by the deep impressions of its claws in the bark. 

 Its food consists almost exclusively of fruit and insects. Sloth-bears generally 

 visit fruit-trees on their nightly excursions, sometimes climbing about in the 

 branches and shaking off the fruit, sometimes standing up on their hind-legs and 

 drawing the branches down with their fore-paws. The animal food of these bears 

 consists chiefly of beetles and their larvs9, and white ants. They will turn over 

 stones for beetles, climb the trees for bees, and dig holes of a yard or more in depth 

 for ants. When they reach an ants' nest they blow away the dust and then draw 

 the hapless inhabitants into their mouths with such a powerful suction that it may 

 be heard at a distance of two hundred paces. They are exceedingly fond of the 

 fermented sap of the wild date-palm, climbing the trees to get at the pots which 

 are hung up to catch the juice, and are said occasionally to get intoxicated on this 

 beverage. They are also fond of sugar-cane and do great damage to sugar- 

 plantations. Sometimes they eat maize and other grain, or steal birds' eggs. 

 Although they may occasionally kill the larger animals, they do not eat them. Dry 

 bones of cattle are sometimes gnawed by them, and once a wounded muntjac, and 

 on another occasion a cow killed by a tiger, were found partly eaten by a sloth- 

 bear. 



The habit of sucking their paws, grunting all the while, is especially character- 

 istic of sloth-bears, and young specimens in captivity are fond of sucking the hands 

 of their keepers. The sense of smell is apparently well developed, but the sight 

 of this bear is indifferent, and the peculiar way in which it looks at intruders gives 

 the impression of its being short-sighted. Neither is its sense of hearing very 

 acute, and it seems to discover honeycombs in trees and ants' nests or larvae of 

 beetles underground mainly by smell. 



When sniffing about for food on their nocturnal excursions sloth-bears utter a 

 peculiar sound audible at a considerable distance. Occasionally during pairing-time, 

 or at the beginning of the cold season, they utter a shrill scream ; and when 

 surprised or startled, and especially when wounded, they break into long loud 

 guttural tones, while when mortally wounded they give vent to plaintive cries. 



When wounded by a bullet, a sloth-bear generally attacks its unwounded 

 companion. On the whole these bears are cowardly, although in some cases they 

 will furiously attack men, using both teeth and claws. When surprised and trying 

 to escape, they content themselves with knocking down their adversaries by a blow 

 of the paw. Often, however, they inflict serious wounds, and in some cases clutch 

 their victims and bite fiercely till all struggles cease. The most furious attacks are 

 made by females with young ; wounded bears are generally dangerous, but some- 

 times this species attacks without provocation. 



Native hunters generally send beaters through the jungle or over a hill and 

 shoot the bear as soon as it is within range. Elephants are seldom used, for the 



