The Sloth Bear: Ecology, Conflict and Conservation

Out of the total 8 species of bears, four species namely the sloth bear, the Asiatic black bear, the Himalayan brown bear and the Malayan sun bear exist in India. In India, the sloth bear is one of the most widely distributed large mammals. Due to the continuous degradation and fragmentation of the habitat the status of sloth bears is critical in its range and leading to more conflicting situation. Sizeable populations of sloth bear exist outside the protected areas. In Central India sloth bear habitats are interspersed by villages with high human and cattle population and agricultural crop fields. Presence of bears or their dens close to the human habitation is quite unusual and indicates the forced use of degraded habitat by the bears. The inhabitants are poor tribal or other villagers who suffer from both economic loss of crops and human mauling and killing by sloth bear. In order to resolve the conflicts and plan a conservation action plan, this study on the ecology of sloth bear and human-bear conflicts was conducted in Chhattisgarh. The outcome of the study should be useful for the students, researchers, managers and conservationist across the world.