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Prevent Fatal Sloth Bear Encounters: Insights from Tiger Interactions
Context: Three scientists suggest that studying sloth bear behaviour during tiger encounters can help prevent deadly attacks in South Asia.
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- The study titled “A most aggressive bear: Safari videos document sloth bear defence against tiger predation” was published in the journal Ecology and Evolution.
- It is crucial for both human safety and bear conservation.
Study Methodology
- The study analysed 43 videos and photos of sloth bear-tiger interactions from 2011 to 2023, primarily from tourists visiting tiger parks in India.
- Behaviour Analysis: Sloth bears were observed to stand up and charge when they became aware of a tiger at close range (<3 metres).
- This defensive strategy was successful in 86% of cases, preventing contact, although 9% resulted in the bear’s death.
Key Highlights:
- The sloth bear is considered an “enigma” among the eight bear species.
- Including brown bears (Asia, Europe and North America), American black bears, Asiatic black bears, sun bears, polar bears, spectacled bears, and giant panda.
- The diet primarily consists of insects and fruits, placing it and the giant panda at the low end of the carnivory spectrum.
- About 7-8% of sloth bear attacks are fatal, whereas 14% of global brown bear attacks are fatal.
- According to Bombieri et al. (2023), sloth bears have exceeded all other large carnivores, including tigers, in terms of fatal attacks on humans worldwide from 1950 to 2019.
- Approximately 90% of the sloth bear’s range is in India, with additional populations in Nepal and Sri Lanka.
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- In India, large villages and human settlements are close to sloth bear habitats, leading to frequent encounters.
Evolutionary Defense Mechanism:
- Aggression Towards Humans: It may be a result of their evolved defensive strategies against Bengal tigers and other now-extinct large predators.
- Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris) pose a threat to sloth bears. 2% of tiger scats in Indian parks contain sloth bear remains.
- Survival Strategy: By aggressively defending themselves. Historical accounts from the 1800s document these aggressive interactions.
Avoiding Encounters: To avoid encounters, people should make noise in habitats.
- If a close-range encounter occurs and the bear has not yet noticed, quietly back away. Being in groups can help intimidate the bear and reduce the likelihood of an attack.
- If the bear has noticed do not run. Instead, fall to the ground, cover-up, and play dead. Sloth bears are unlikely to eat a person they believe is dead.
Sloth Bears
- Scientific Name: Melursus ursinus.
- Species: One of the eight species of ursids.
- Diet: Primarily insects (termites and ants) and fruits.
- They have distinctive shaggy, dusty-black coats with a cream-coloured “V” or “Y” shape on their chests.
- Their fur lacks an undercoat, keeping them cool in their warm native climate while protecting them from tropical insects.
- The most dangerous wild animals in the Indian subcontinent.
- IUCN Status: Vulnerable.
- Habitat: Includes dry and moist forests and some tall grasslands across India, Sri Lanka, and southern Nepal.
- Historically, they were also reported in Bangladesh and Bhutan, but they are now considered extirpated or possibly absent in these regions.