🐾Sloth bear
The sloth bear, also known as the Indian bear, is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss and degradation. It is the only species in the genus Melursus.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2020.
- Body mass
- 100 kg
- Body length
- 1.7 m
- Shoulder height
- 0.75 m
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 40 years
Everything we know about the Sloth bear
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass100 kgCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 100 kgAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Body length1.7 mCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Shoulder height0.75 m0.6–0.9 m · typical rangenot statedDetails ↓Hide ↑
"Adults measure 60 to 90 cm at the shoulder." Range-only; value is the midpoint.
Source: Bies 2002, Animal Diversity Web account: Melursus ursinus, https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Melursus_ursinus/ · see citation
Brain mass313 gCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Maximum lifespan40 yearsCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 33 yearsAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Generation length9.99 yearsCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Age at maturity3.5 yearsCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Gestation198 daysCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 198 daysAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Litter sizeabout 2COMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 1.5AnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Trophic levelOmnivoreCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Activity cycleCrepuscular / mixedCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Home range7.69 km²COMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Population density0.14 per km²COMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Volume l100 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Sloth bear yet: top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›classMammalia
- ›orderCarnivora
- ›familyUrsidae
- ›genusMelursus
- ›speciesMelursus ursinus
- classMammals · Mammalia
- orderCarnivorans · Carnivora
- familyUrsidae
- genusMelursus
All 14 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- superclassSarcopterygii
- superclassTetrapoda
- classMammals · Mammalia
- subclassTheria
- superorderLaurasiatheria
- orderCarnivorans · Carnivora
- suborderCaniformia
- familyUrsidae
- genusMelursus
More about the Sloth bear
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