A New Bear On the Block
Posted at 4:12 pm November 25, 2008 by Suzanne Hall
Slurp, slurp.
What’s that sound? If you are in the San Diego Zoo’s Bear Canyon over Thanksgiving weekend, you may be hearing the sound of our newest bear resident feeding. Our sloth bear will go on exhibit tomorrow, and he adds an interesting new dimension to our resident bear population.
Sloth bears feed on insects and have special adaptations to aid them in their foraging. They have ample, loose lips to create a type of “straw” for suction and a gap in their front teeth to allow them to suck things up into their mouths easily. They are so effective at creating suction that it is said you can hear them slurping as far away as the length of a football field! Come test this factoid yourself: can you hear our sloth bear from the bottom of Bear Canyon?
I learned today that sloth bears can use their incredible suction-creating modifications for another purpose; if agitated, the bear can turn that gap-and-straw into a powerful phlegm-spitting tool, much like that of a camel. Might not want to look cross-eyed at our new bear when you visit!
Named Buddha, our new sloth bear is an eight-year-old male who came to us last month. He will begin his life at the San Diego Zoo by inaugurating a new research study the Giant Panda Conservation Unit will begin with his arrival on exhibit. This is the first in an intensive line of work we hope to do with his species because, like the other rare bears in our collection, little is known about sloth bears. We hope to be a factor in changing that reality for these fascinating, shaggy bears.
Sloth bears are another bear species listed as vulnerable to extinction, like the sun, Andean or spectacled, and polar bears in our collection. Sloth bears are native to India and surrounding areas, but have been largely eradicated from many parts of their historic range due to habitat destruction and encroachment by humans. Sadly, sloth bears are also at risk of poaching, and females are often killed to capture infant bears, some as young a few days old. These cubs are often bound for the dancing bear and pet trade, where they meet a sad fate of pain and humiliation to earn money for their keepers.
But Buddha is far from the darker side of the sloth bear world, and he is here for you to admire and learn about. Come see his marvelous long claws, used to extract termites from their nests. Notice his long, shaggy coat, an adaptation that allows cubs to grip better as they ride –yes, ride- on their mother’s back. And be glad for the moat between you and he, because sloth bears are well known to be among the most dangerous of bears.
Welcome, Buddha bear! And Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Suzanne Hall is a senior research technician at the San Diego Zoo.
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November 25th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
thanks for the post on the newcomer Buddha the sloth bear! he is kind of goofy looking and not what you would call a beautiful bear, but none the less important and probably interesting when we learn more about them! we can’t all be good-looking can we? looking forward to more posts in the future about Buddah buddy. are all the bears represented at the zoo? black bear? grizzley? I can’t remember!!!! quite a difference in all their backgrounds, habitats, numbers, etc.! keep teaching us what we don’t know about and educate as many children ( and grown-ups!) about the animal world. your zoo links are the best!
Moderator’s note: We now have 6 of the 8 bear species (we don’t have North American black bears or Asiatic black bears). We have blogs written about all of the others. Check out our “Bear Awareness” blog category at http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/category/default/bear-awareness-days/
November 25th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
I’m looking forward to seeing Buddha, and maybe even hearing his slurping! Our bear collection is growing more varied and interesting all the time, and they tell such an important story about problems of their survival in the wild. Thanks for keeping us all up to date, Suzanne.
November 25th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Great blog! What zoo did Buddha come from? Is he the zoos first sloth bear?
November 26th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Nancy #1,
Aww, I think Buddha is so cute! I suppose beauty really is in the eye of the beholder…
Taylor #3,
Buddha, the offspring of bears that used to reside at our zoo many years back, has been living at a private wildlife ranch in Tennessee.
December 3rd, 2008 at 4:55 pm
I have been visiting th SD Zoo since 1971 – and I always look forward to seeing the Bears in your collection. I am a bit sad though that their habitats have not been updated for as long as I can remember. There is so much effort (and I suppose funding) for making other species in the park seem right at home and in surroundings as much like nature as possible. Any plans for upgrading the Bears?
Our Curator of Mammals responds: Upgrading or replacing the bear exhibits is a high priority for us. As funding becomes available we will implement our improvement plans. Even though some of our exhibits are old, they do still effectively provide the space and activity needs of the species that live in them because of the increased skill and professionalism of the animal care staff.
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:50 pm
It’s so nice to see a sloth bear to be part of the SDZ family. Will he get a mate too? WSPA is working on freeing many of these bears in India. They have a sanctuary there, hopefully, SDZ can work with them?
December 21st, 2008 at 10:05 am
When, if ever, do you plan on acquiring Ursus americanus and Ursus thibetanus?
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:00 am
Susan #6,
I am grateful for the organizations that work to save sloth bears from the dancing trade. It’s a devastating industry for the species. We are in touch with some folks from a group called Wildlife SOS and hope that in the future we may be able to collaborate with them.
David #7,
There are no plans currently to acquire either of the two species you mention. The American black bear is the least threatened of all bear species, and so there is little need for assistance with this bear in captivity. We are collaborating with Asian zoos to include the Asiatic black in our research efforts.