The bear that evolved to hunt ants

Species File: Exploring India’s biodiversity, one species at a time. During the monsoon this year, sloth bears seemed to quite literally unearth an unusual prey in the forest floor of Amrabad Tiger Reserve, Telangana: shield-tailed snakes. Researchers studying over a hundred scat samples found the remains of the snake in a handful – potentially the first record of the bears hunting the snake. The shaggy-coated and long-clawed sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) is a mostly nocturnal mammal that is native to the Indian subcontinent. It has a long, flexible snout and mobile lips that enable it to suck up ants and termites. While they love their occasional meat tidbits, they mostly thrive on insects, fruits and wild berries. Sloth bears usually live in rugged terrain with rocky hillocks and dense scrub vegetation. Like other bears, they depend on dens as safe spaces for resting and raising their cubs. They can adapt to life in a wide range of habitats such as dry grasslands, scrublands, and moist tropical forests. The only population estimation of sloth bears in India stems from a 2006 survey: between 6,000 to 11,000 sloth bears, with around half of them living outside protected areas. The IUCN Red List classifies the species as vulnerable, which means it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild. In India, it receives the highest legal protection under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Sloth bears may be helping regenerate forests by dispersing viable seeds. A study from Rajasthan’s Aravalli…This article was originally published on Mongabay