Sloth bear
| Sloth bear | ||||||||||||
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Sloth bear |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Melursus | ||||||||||||
| Meyer , 1793 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Melursus ursinus | ||||||||||||
| ( Shaw , 1791) |
The sloth bear ( Melursus ursinus ) is a species of predator from the bear family (Ursidae). In the construction of the snout it shows some adaptations to a food consisting mainly of insects and is native to South Asia .
features
Sloth bears look similar to the collar bears outwardly , but are not closely related to them. They have some features, especially on their faces, that set them apart from all other bears. The hairless lips are elongated, very flexible and can be extended. The narrow tongue that can be stretched out is also extended. The nostrils can be closed if necessary. These are all adaptations to the eating habits. The teeth are also unique within the bears: the innermost pair of the upper incisors is missing, creating a gap, the molars are exceptionally wide and flat.
The fur of the sloth bears is long and shaggy, the hair on the neck area is the longest. It is mostly colored black and often interspersed with brown or gray hair, but there are also red-brown specimens. On the chest they have a light, mostly white or yellow colored drawing in the form of a Y or V. As an animal in tropical climates, it does not have an undercoat. The feet are large and have extremely long, sickle-shaped claws. They are reminiscent of the claws of a sloth and, in addition to the missing incisors and shaggy fur, gave this bear the name Sloth Bear ("sloth bear"). The soles of the feet are hairless.
Sloth bears reach a head body length of 140 to 180 centimeters and a shoulder height of 61 to 91 centimeters. As with all bears, the tail is a stub 10 to 12 centimeters long. Females reach a weight of 55 to 95 kilograms, while males are significantly heavier and weigh between 80 and 145 kilograms.
Distribution area and habitat
Sloth bears live in India and Sri Lanka and occasionally in Bangladesh , Bhutan and Nepal . They inhabit a variety of habitats between tropical moist forests and grasslands, but are most commonly found in moist grasslands and wet and dry deciduous forests. In the mountains they rarely rise to altitudes of over 1500 m. In the forests of the Western Ghats in India, however, they can also be found up to about 2000 m above sea level. In Sri Lanka, sloth bears prefer monsoon forests below 300 m.
Way of life
The animals can be active at any time of the day, but mostly at night. During the day they hide in caves or in thick vegetation. Unlike many other bears, they do not hibernate , but fall into a period of relative inactivity during the rainy season. Sloth bears, like all bears, live solitary. However, their home ranges can sometimes overlap considerably.
food
Sloth bears specialize in insect food , with termites being the main ingredient. To get to their prey, they tear open the termite mound with their powerful claws, blow away the dust and stick their snouts into it. By drawing in the air vigorously, they suck out their prey, similar to a vacuum cleaner. The long tongue also helps them lick up their food.
Sloth bears also eat other insects such as ants and bees, fruits, flowers and honey, and sometimes carrion, are also on their menu, and very rarely small to medium-sized vertebrates. To get hold of their food, they also climb up into the trees.
Fruits make up between 40 and 70% of the total diet at certain times of the year, while the proportion of insects can rise to 95% during periods of low fruit. Sloth bears often go to crops in severely degraded habitats.
Reproduction
In India, mating occurs mainly in the months of May to July, while in Sri Lanka it can take place year-round. In order to reproduce, the otherwise solitary animals come together in pairs. They stay together for a few days and during this time they mate frequently, which is described as very noisy. Around six to seven months pass between reproduction and birth, but presumably, as with other bears, there is also delayed implantation of the fertilized egg in the mother's uterus .
The one or two, rarely three young animals are born in a burrow. You are blind and helpless, your eyes open after around three weeks. After four to five more weeks they leave the birth den for the first time, and you can often see them riding on their mother's back. They stay with her until they are two or three years old and fully grown. Sloth bears kept in the zoo reached a maximum age of 27 to 32 years.
Sloth bears and humans
Although sloth bears tend to be shy animals, they are sometimes considered aggressive. This is because they, because of their very bad face and sense of hearing notice an approaching people at the last moment and then respond frightened. In defense, they then mainly use their long claws. Sometimes they also devastate plantations and are therefore persecuted. Another reason for hunting is for their body parts to be used as food or for medicinal purposes. The bile attributed healing powers similar to that of the black bear . In some regions of India, the animals are also caught alive as young animals in order to be able to use them later as dancing bears . The main threat today, however, is the destruction of their habitat through forest clearing; the leveling of termite mounds also deprives them of their food.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN lists them in its Red List of Threatened Species as endangered ("vulnerable"). The total population of sloth bears is estimated at around 7,000 to 10,000 animals. The highest population estimates assume 20,000 animals. Around a third to half of Indian populations now live in protected areas, where the animals are relatively safe from hunting and habitat destruction. Around half of the habitats in Sri Lanka are protected.
Systematics
The sloth bear is sometimes classified in its own genus Melursus , then again in the genus Ursus . Molecular genetic analyzes speak for the classification in Ursus ; there are also reproductive offspring in crosses between sloth bears and brown bears. However, in 1993 Wilson and Reeder considered the anatomical differences between Melursus and Ursus to be serious enough to maintain the sloth bear's independence.
There are two subspecies of the sloth bear: Melursus ursinus ursinus on the Indian subcontinent and Melursus ursinus inornatus on Sri Lanka. The form from Sri Lanka is a bit smaller and is characterized by a less shaggy fur.
Famous sloth bears
The Hindi name of the bear, bhālū , inspired Rudyard Kipling to write the character Baloo in his book " The Jungle Book ".
Movie
- Oliver Goetzl. Ivo Nörenberg: Hero from the jungle book - the sloth bear . - Film documentation of a three-year study in the state of Karnataka / India. 60 min, Germany. 2011.
Web links
- Melursus ursinus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2009. Posted by: Garshelis, DL, Ratnayeke S. & Chauhan, NPS (IUCN SSC Bear Specialist Group), 2008. Retrieved on January 23 of 2010.
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 (English).
- Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder: Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Smithsonian Institution, Washington 1993, ISBN 1-56098-217-9 .
- SJ O'Brien: The molecular evolution of bears. In: Ian Stirling: Bears. Majestic Creatures of the Wild. Rodale, Emmaus 1993, ISBN 0-87596-552-0 .
- Garshelis, DL (2009). Family Ursidae (Bears) . (448-497). In: Wilson, DE, Mittermeier, RA, (Eds.). Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores. Lynx Edicions, 2009. ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Garshelis, 2009 (p. 489)
- ↑ Richard Weigl: Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World. Kleine Senckenberg-Reihe 48, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-510-61379-1
- ^ SJ O'Brien: The molecular evolution of bears. In: Ian Stirling: Bears. Majestic Creatures of the Wild. Rodale, Emmaus 1993, ISBN 0-87596-552-0 .
- ↑ Article Sloth bear at WAZA