Playful in captivity, fearsome in the wild

Bears are some of the most feared carnivorous mammals in Asian forests, but you could easily get deceived by their behaviour as the sloth bears in the zoo seem playful. Brought to the zoo when very young and raised by the ‘Young Zoologists’ and zoo staff, these bears are playful and interesting to watch. This week ZooLander reports on the playful sloth bears at the Dehiwala Zoo..!

Sloth bears are fascinating to watch. Though they inhabit the dry zone jungles in Sri Lanka, it is not easy to spot them in their natural habitats as they are shy animals. If you are really lucky, you could have a glimpse of them in a national park like Yala.  But at the Dehiwala Zoo you will have all the time to observe these secretive sloth bears.
You can meet the sloth bears at two locations within the zoo. The one which is home to the  playful bears, is located near the Aviary and adjacent to Patagonian Cave (Mara)’s den. These sloth bears are really playful unlike in the wild. One of these bears was brought to the zoo while just a baby. It was about 4 months at the time of rescue and had even been hand fed by the animal keepers and the Young Zoologists with the love and care the cubs needed. This baby bear had also been kept in the Pets Corner; which allows visitors - especially the kids; to have a closer interaction with animals. It had been cuddled and the kids had played with it resulting in an acquired playfulness.Though fully grown now, it still likes to swing playfully on the iron swing placed in its enclosure.
This bear has the company of another of its kind, which had been kept as a pet and they can be seen playfully engaging in mock fights. Opening their large lips baring sharp teeth, they sometimes seem as if they are trying to scare one another ... Standing on their hind legs they compete in height, while wrestling is also one of their popular pastimes. But when the day-time heat gets to these bears, they lie under a shady spot in their enclosure and go to sleep. They also enjoy relaxing on the large logs in their den.
The other bear enclosure is located elsewhere and is made to give the feel of an environment closer to their natural habitat in the wild. You can find it on your way to the elephant area and will be a reminder of the bears in the wild.

Termite Suckers
With bushy thick coats of black hair, they do not look as cute as pandas. But they are, our local brand of bear, and their natural range is South Asia. Most sloth bears live in India and Sri Lanka; others live in southern Nepal, and they have been reported in Bhutan and Bangladesh too. Sloth bears live in a variety of dry and wet forests, and also in some grasslands, where boulders and scattered shrubs and trees provide shelter. In areas like Yala, large boulders are the best hideouts for the bear. Some of the hideouts in Yala are also named with reference to these bears such as Walas Kema meaning watering hole for thirsty bears. Wasgamuwa has been a combination of words Walas + Gomuwa which translates as  ‘jungle where the bears roam.’
Sloth bears have shaggy, dusty-black coats, pale short-haired muzzles, and long, curved claws which they use to excavate ants and termites. A cream-colored “V” or “Y” usually marks their chests which resembles a loosely stitched necklace. They have large lips, a long tongue, a pale muzzle and well-developed hook-like claws that enable them to climb trees and dig for termites.
Sloth Bears relish termites and ants; which has earned them the tag insectivores; they are actually omnivorous ready to eat meat as well. Sloth bears employ a well-evolved method to dig out termites.Their long, curved claws are used for penetrating nest mounds, which can be rock-hard. Once they’ve opened a hole, they blow away excess dirt, then noisily suck out the insects through a gap in their front teeth. To do so, they close their nostrils and use their lips like a vacuum nozzle. To support these dietary preferences, the sloth bears’ nostrils have evolved in a way that they can be closed. This helps bears to protect the respiratory system from dust or insects when raiding termite nests or beehives. They also have gaps in their teeth which enable them to suck up ants, termites, and other insects. A sloth bear uses its lips like a vacuum, making rapid, loud “kerfump” noises as it sucks insects from their nests.

Bear Season
Though termites are their favourite diet, sloth bears do not mind a juicy fruity treat. Whenever palu trees are ripe with fruit, in the local jungles, they come out from hideouts as the smell of this sweet fruit is irresistible to sloth bears. The palu season which starts in May and goes on till end July marks an unofficial bear watching season in our national parks. Yala is thought to be one of the best places to watch bears in the open, in the wild, and that’s mainly during this palu season ... as the bears are attracted to the fruit.
Some of the greedy bears that cannot control  temptation even climb the palu trees in search of berries hanging on branches. Zoologists also have records of some greedy young bears that have got dizzy after eating too many palu fruits.
Sloth bear is also a much sort after animal by tourists who visit our national parks. Like Africa’s Big 5, the tourism industry in Sri Lanka is also vying to promote “Sri Lanka’s Big 4” which includes the Sloth Bear along with the Elephant, the Blue Whale and the Leopard – adding importance to sloth bears, making them rank among the top Sri Lankan attractions.
In fact, Sri Lanka has its own sub species of sloth bear that is endemic to Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan sub species of sloth bear is highly threatened, with populations continuing to dwindle. Destruction of dry-zone forests is the  main threat, because unlike other large Sri Lankan animals, the Sri Lankan sloth bear is highly dependent on natural forests as a food source, and is a shy animal.

Short Tempered
With their sharp teeth and long claws, the  sloth bears can indeed be a fierce carnivore in our jungles. They are known to be short tempered and are responsible for attacking many forest dwellers that are not careful enough to avert them. In the past, there were occasional news reports about bear attacks. In fact bear attacks are more common than leopard attacks, simply because leopards have a more acute sense that makes them avoid humans before humans feel the presence of the leopard.
Sloth bears lead solitary lives, and most are nocturnal. If threatened, these smallish bears will stand on two legs, brandishing their clawed forepaws as weapons. Their sharp claws could indeed be deadly. There are fairly agile bears that can run faster than a human.
Sloth bears grow to around five to six feet in height, stand two to three feet high at the shoulder, and weigh from 120 pounds (in lighter females) to 310 pounds (the heavy males).

Softer Side
After a six- to seven-month gestation period, sloth bears normally give birth to a litter of two cubs in an underground den. The cubs will often ride on their mother’s back, a feature unique to bears. Sloth bears mate during the hot season - May, June,and July - and usually give birth to two cubs, six to seven months later. After emerging from the den, cubs stay at their mother’s side for two to three years, before heading off on their own.
Sloth bears show their softer side as they are the only bears to carry young on their backs. This behaviour known as ‘piggy-backing’ gives more protection to the young, which are vulnerable to predation, when on the move.

Published on LakbimaNews on 29.07.2012 http://www.lakbimanews.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6293:playful-in-captivity-fearsome-in-the-wild&catid=41:mag&Itemid=12