Sloth Bear

The sloth bear is not a sloth at all. It is possible that the bear’s arboreal habits and their long claws led to their original misclassification as sloths in the 1700s. Its body is 5 to 6 feet long, and it has a thick, shaggy coat of fur, which varies in color from auburn to black. Its chest is marked with a distinctive white V, and it has light-colored snout. Males, weighing 175 to 310 pounds, are larger than females, which weigh only 120 to 210 pounds. Its tail is 6 to 7 inches long, the longest in the bear family, and its footprint is very similar to that of a human. Due to the warm climate in which the sloth bear resides, it does not hibernate during the winter, as many northern bear species do.

Habitat

The sloth bear inhabits the tropical lowland forests of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and is sometimes found in tall grasslands that provide dense cover.

Feeding Habits

While sloth bears are true bears, they have a number of unique adaptations to support their primarily insectivorous lifestyle. They have no upper incisors, which allow their long tongue to slip through and suck up insects. This adaptation also allows them to use their lower incisors to scrape away bark from trees to get at the insects below. Their 4-inch-long curved claws are also designed for digging for grubs and tearing apart termite mounds. To prevent termites and ants from crawling into their noses to defend their nests, the sloth bear’s nostrils can close tightly as a barrier. During the dry season, nearly 95 percent of a sloth bear’s diet is insects. However, during the wet season, they will climb high into the branches of trees to gather fruits, flowers and honeycombs.

Reproduction

The gestation of a female sloth bear typically lasts seven months, after which two cubs are born, although the mother will sometimes give birth to one or three young. The newborns stay in their den until they are about 2 or 3 months old and will remain by their mother’s side until at least 2 years of age. Sloth bears will fiercely defend their territories and their young, and despite having “sloth” in their name, the speed at which they can attack is far quicker than the speed at which a human can run away.

Conservation

Many human activities threaten the sloth bears’ survival. Poaching for the bears’ gallbladder, which is used in traditional medicine, is a rampant problem. Habitat loss and fragmentation in the Indian subcontinent are also severe threats, as bears become displaced from their forest homes. Cubs may face risks from predators such as tigers, leopards and wolves, but mothers will viciously defend their young with the aid of their long, sharp claws. The sloth bear’s conservation status is currently listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Blood pheasant

The Blood Pheasant has kind of a disturbing name, but it gets it from the red skin of its face and legs, and the red feathers on the chin, chest, and tail. They are small members of their family, and are the only species found within the genus Ithaginis, though there are a dozen recognized subspecies.

Blood Pheasants are found in the countries surrounding the Himalayas– China, India, Nepal, and Bhutan. They prefer to live in coniferous forests, and range at elevations of 10,000-15,000 feet during the breeding season, and slightly lower during the rest of the year.

These birds are not the best fliers, and they get around mostly by running on the ground. They even build their nests on the ground, constructing them under rocks and inside shrubs. These ground nests can be problematic, however, as sometimes the eggs must be moved or abandoned altogether if the parents feel there is too much risk. Broods can number over a dozen in size, and the young chicks are able to get up and follow mom around when they are only two days old. They will remain as a group until winter.

The species is very rarely found in captivity, and at present it does not appear that there are any in United States institutions. Blood Pheasants live in very remote regions in the wild, and so have been safe from many of the threats that endanger different pheasant species. However, the population does appear to be on the decline, though it is slow enough to list them as being of Least Concern.

Common name:

blood pheasant (en); faisão-sangue(pt); ithagine ensanglantée (fr); faisán de sangre (es); blutfasan (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Galliformes

Family Phasianidae

Range:

This Asian species is found in the mountains of Nepal, northern India, Bhutan, Tibet, northern Myanmar and south-central China.

Size:

Blood pheasants are 40-48 cm long and weigh 410-620 g.

Habitat:

These birds are found in coniferous and mixed forests, in bamboo forests, scrublands and alpine meadows. They occur at altitudes of 2.500-4.500 m.

Diet:

These birds eat lichens, pine seeds, green shoots, berries and some invertebrates including snails, butterflies, flies and beetles.

Breeding:

Blood pheasants breed in May-July. They nest on the ground, in a shallow saucer made of dry twigs lined with leaves, thin tree roots and mosses. The female lays 5-14 pink or yellowish white eggs with brown speckles, which she incubates alone for 27-33 days while the male stands guard. The chicks are able to walk and feed themselves just 2 days after hatching, but continue to be brooded and protected by the female for 5-6 weeks.

Conservation:

IUCN status – LC (Least concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and is reported to be common and widespread in some areas and scarce in others. Populations are declining throughout much of its range owing to habitat loss and degradation caused by timber extraction, overgrazing and agricultural conversion, as well as hunting pressure. Still, the blood pheasant is not considered threatened at present.