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Sloth bear facts for kids

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Sloth Bear
Temporal range: Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene – Recent
Sloth bear 1.jpg
Sloth Bear
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Melursus
Species:
M. ursinus
Binomial name
Melursus ursinus
(Shaw, 1791)

The Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus) is a bear that lives in India and Sri Lanka.

Appearance

Sloth Bears have long and shaggy black fur, but its fur can also be brown. On its chest it has a white or yellow mark, which is shaped like an Y or V. They have big feet with long claws. The long claws are also the reason for its English name, because the claws look like the claws of a Sloth.

Life

Sloth Bears eat insects, like for example termites. But they also eat fruit, honey, eggs, and also meat.

Female Sloth Bears usually have 1-2 babies, sometimes 3. Young Sloth Bears stay with their mother for 2-3 years. In captivity they can live to be 40 years old.

Sloth bear adults can weigh anywhere from 120-130 pounds and measure anywhere form 60-70 inches in length.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Melursus ursinus para niños

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