Sloth Bear

The Sri Lankan sloth bear is a subspecies of the sloth bear which is found mostly in lowland dry forests in Sri Lanka. Being omnivorous, sloth bears feed on nuts, roots, carrion, and meat. One of its favorites is insects, which the bear removes from rotting stumps and trees with its hairless snout. The specialty of these animals is that they rarely kill animals. The sloth bear is sympatric with the leopard. In its native habitat of Sri Lanka, this bear is called the ‘walaha’ in Sinhalese, which translates to “bear” in English. The Sri Lankan sloth bear is dependent on natural forests for its food source.