Tag: sloth bear

Watch: Tiger, bear square off in tense jungle encounter

Footage shows the tiger following the sloth bear, which at one point turns and charges the tiger.

Last month we shared rare footage showing a tiger chasing a sloth bear through an Indian jungle.

Tigers sometimes prey on sloth bears, but predation attempts are rarely witnessed.

The footage, credited to Siddharth Singh, was posted to X by Ramesh Pandey of the Indian Forest Service, who remarked: “Jungles never cease to amaze us.”

On Wednesday, Pandey shared the accompanying footage (also captured by Singh) showing a tiger and sloth bear squaring off on a remote path in a lowland jungle, as tourists in vehicles watched from opposite  locations.

This time, the tiger is wary and simply follows the bear, which at one point charges the tiger. The outcome of their encounter is unclear.

Although tigers occasionally prey on sloth bears, the two species typically thrive together in shared protected habitat, according to Wildlife SOS.

Surreal footage shows tiger chasing bear through forest

“Jungles never cease to amaze us,” an Indian Forest Service officer stated after sharing footage of the pursuit in a tiger reserve.

Tigers sometimes prey on sloth bears in India, but predation attempts are rarely witnessed.

The accompanying footage, captured in the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, shows a sloth bear fleeing for its life as tourists watch from a safari vehicle, anticipating what might happen next.

Nearly 15 seconds after the bear passes, in a grainy scene captured from another vehicle, the tiger is shown bounding across the road in hot pursuit.

“Jungles never cease to amaze us,” Ramesh Pandey of the Indian Forest Service exclaimed Wednesday via X, crediting Siddharth Singh for the footage.

Although tigers occasionally prey on sloth bears, the two species can thrive together in shared protected habitat, according to Wildlife SOS.

Sloth bears can weigh nearly 300 pounds. Their diet consists mostly of termites, ants, carrion, fruits and plants, and small mammals.

As viewers can see, they’re not at all sloth-like in their movements, especially when they fall under attack.

Sloth bear attacks six people, eludes 100 searchers

Wildlife officials had issued a warning for a 50-mile area around Bannerghatta National Park as they worried the sloth bear is rabid. What they’re saying now.

A sloth bear said to have injured six people residing between Bannerghatta National Park and the town of Attibele in India last week is now believed to have returned to its natural habitat, or at least that’s what officials are hoping.

Last week, wildlife officials issued a warning for a 50-mile area around Bannerghatta National Park as they worried the sloth bear is rabid, according to the New Indian Express.

More than 100 officials from BNP, Wildlife SOS, the forest department and the local police searched for the bear on foot, along with three veterinarians and darters. Drone cameras and camera traps were also deployed in the unsuccessful search effort.

“There have been no signs of the animal in the last three days. Four days back, the sloth bear was sighted at night near a temple in N Begur, which is 4-5 kilometers [2-3 miles] away from BNP,” a senior forest department official told The New Indian Express in a report Tuesday.

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“So we are only hoping that it would have made its way back to the forest patch using its natural instinct. However, we are not letting our guard down.”

The sloth bear is believed to have attacked the six people while on the run away from the forest from Sunday March 28 to the night of Monday March 29.

Wildlife officials were unsure if it was the same sloth bear that had been captured and taken to the Bannerghatta Biological Park rescue center where it subsequently escaped from the safari area, as reported by The Hindu on March 20.

However, it appears doubtful it is the same animal, considering the comment made by the rescue center operator from NGO Wildlife SOS in that same report.

“If it is the escaped bear, it is harmless, as it is friendly towards humans,” Arun A. Sha of the NGO Wildlife SOS, told The Hindu. “But the area has wild bears too, which are passing close to villages due to water scarcity.”

Photos of the sloth bear from a camera trap and a generic sloth bear courtesy of the forest department in India.

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