!
a
i
d
n
I
m
o
r
f
s
Greeting
Hey, there! I’m Samir, and this is my
mom. We’re sloth bears. Our home in the
steep, rocky hills of southern India can be
a dangerous place for a little bear. Good
thing my mom lets me climb up on her
back whenever I get scared. Let’s just say I
spend a lot of time up here. Want to come
along for the ride?
Nepal
bhutan
India
s r i l an k a
banglades
h
indian ocea
n
countries whe
re sloth
bears live
Meet the
Sloth
BEARS
by Hannah Schardt; photos by Axel Gomille
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Little Bear, Big World
I win! I made it to the top first!
Ha-ha, my brother’s such a slowpoke. He’s still down there by
Mom’s feet. Uh, Mom—could you
give me a little boost?
Above, little Samir bounds
after his mom. He and
Brother Sanjay will stay with
Mama Bear for two years.
Y
ou know sloths—those
sluggish, tree-dwelling
animals from Central and
South America. And you
know bears. But you might
not know sloth bears. (Sloth
means “laziness.” Both sloths
and sloth bears move pretty
slowly—but we wouldn’t call
them lazy!)
These dark, shaggy bears
live only in South Asia, in India and the countries around
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it. (See map
on page 18.)
Scientists think
there are fewer
than 20,000 of them
left in the wild. They
are shy and hard to spot,
so people are just now getting
to know more about these
unusual bears.
At first glance, you might
think a sloth bear looks like a
regular black bear with longer
When they aren’t hanging out with Mom, Samir
and Sanjay spend their
time wrestling, playing,
and exploring their rocky
home (circle). Sometimes
that leads to run-ins with
their neighbors, such as
the peacock at left. Ever
heard of scaredy-bears?
fur. But there are some pretty
big differences between sloth
bears and other bears.
For one thing, sloth bears
are the only bears that keep
their babies on their backs
most of the time. Even when
the babies get bigger, they
scramble up on their mamas’
furry backs every time they
get scared—which can be
pretty often!
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Yikes! Am I too big
now to climb on
Mom’s back?
Growing Up
With a loud roar, Mama
Bear (above, at right) fends
off a male bear that has
come too close to her cubs.
The cubs are almost as big
as Mom, but they still cower
behind her at the first sign
of danger.
S
loth bears are built dif- ferently from the bears
you are used to. They have
longer, lankier bodies and
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longer, stronger claws—good
for climbing trees, where they
find fruit and honey or just
hang out.
Fruit and honey are nice
snacks. But sloth bears are
really made for eating insects.
Like other bears, they have
long, pointy canine teeth. But
sloth bears have no top incisors—the front teeth that we
use for biting into an apple.
And they have long, flexible
lips. With no front teeth to get
in the way, this odd-looking
mouth makes a perfect tool
for sucking up ants and
termites. The bears use their
strong, sharp claws to break
into termite mounds. Then
they scarf up a meal with a
noisy sluuurrp!
So now you DO know sloth
bears: the tree-climbing,
insect-sucking, baby-toting
bears of South Asia. And
aren’t you glad you do? =
Samir is almost grown up.
See him at left, peeking
over a rocky ledge? He has
the big, floppy ears and
long, pale snout of an
adult sloth bear. And
now, when he wants
a better view, he can
climb a tree (above)
instead of his mom.
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