AnimalsThe sloth bear is the shaggy black bear of the Indian subcontinent, with a pale V on its chest. It feeds mainly on termites and ants, sucking them up noisily through a gap in its front teeth, and is very fond of fruit and honey. Mothers carry their cubs on their backs.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Melursus ursinus
- Group
- Mammals
- Diet
- Omnivore (eats plants and animals)
- Lives in
- India, Sri Lanka and Nepal
- Habitat
- Dry forests and grassland
- A young one is called
- cub
- A group is called
- no special name
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable
How it is classified
Scientists sort living things into groups within groups. Reading down, each step is a smaller group, ending with the species itself.
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata
- Class Mammalia
- Order Carnivora
- Family Ursidae
- Genus Melursus
- Species Melursus ursinus
Other members of the family Ursidae on this site: brown bear, giant panda, polar bear.
More distant relatives in the order Carnivora: cheetah, dog, domestic cat, jaguar, leopard, lion, red fox, red panda, snow leopard, spotted hyena, tiger, walrus.
Classification follows the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Other reference works arrange some groups differently. How classification works.
Is it in danger?
The sloth bear is listed as Vulnerable. The species faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
This is the IUCN Red List category as recorded in Wikidata on 11 November 2026. The IUCN Red List itself is the authority and may carry a newer assessment. What the categories mean.