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sloth bear

File:Sloth_bear_stand.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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sloth bear

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Also known as Melursus ursinus

species of bear common to the Indian subcontinent

OverviewAI-generated

The sloth bear, scientifically named *Melursus ursinus*, is a species within the genus *Melursus*. It is classified as a mammal and exists during the Holocene time period. The species is not extinct and has been described in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. Its IUCN conservation status is listed as Vulnerable, a designation recorded in 2020. Additionally, the sloth bear is included in Appendix I of CITES.

This bear inhabits forest and savanna environments. Its primary food sources include Formicidae and termites. The gestation period for the species is 210 days, and the longest observed lifespan is 33.3 years. The sloth bear is also referred to by other common names, such as Oso bezudo o labiado, Huulkaru, and ours lippu.

Synthesized by Vinony from 27 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, iNaturalist, IUCN Red List, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Vulnerable

Sloth Bear

species

Observations1,188

Der Lippenbär (Melursus ursinus) ist eine Raubtierart aus der Familie der Bären (Ursidae). Er weist im Bau der Schnauze einige Anpassungen an eine vorwiegend aus Insekten bestehende Nahrung auf und ist in Südasien beheimatet.

via IUCN

Wikidata facts

Instance of
taxon
Parent taxon
Melursus
Image
Sri Lankan sloth bear (Melursus ursinus inornatus) male 3.jpg
Show 15 more facts
taxon rank
species
IUCN conservation status
Vulnerable
Commons category
Melursus ursinus
taxon name
Melursus ursinus
Commons gallery
Melursus ursinus
gestation period
210
described by source
Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
longest observed lifespan
33.3
Unicode character
🦥
CITES Appendix
Appendix I of CITES
habitat
savanna
main food source
termite
short name
M. ursinus
taxon common name
Sloth bear
time period
Holocene
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~31 min read

Encyclopedic overview

The sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), 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.

It has also been called "labiated bear" because of its long lower lip and palate used for sucking up insects. It has long, shaggy fur, a mane around the face, and long, sickle-shaped claws. It is lankier than brown and Asian black bears. It shares features of insectivorous mammals and evolved during the Pleistocene from the ancestral ursine bear through divergent evolution.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “sloth bear” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (14)

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