Editing Sloth bear (section)

{{Short description|Species of bear}}{{Distinguish|Sloth}}{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Sloth bear
| fossil_range = Late [[Pliocene]] to Early [[Pleistocene]] – recent
| image = Sloth bear stand.jpg
| image_caption = Standing ''Melursus ursinus''
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |title=''Melursus ursinus'' |amends=2016 |author=Dharaiya, N. |author2=Bargali, H. S. |author3=Sharp, T. |name-list-style=amp |year=2020 |page=e.T13143A166519315 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T13143A166519315.en |access-date=16 January 2022}}</ref>
| status2 = CITES_A1 
| status2_system = CITES 
| status2_ref = <ref name=iucn/>
| display_parents = 2
| genus = Melursus
| parent_authority = [[Bernhard Meyer|Meyer]], 1793
| species = ursinus
| authority = ([[George Shaw (biologist)|Shaw]], 1791)
| synonyms =
*''Bradypus ursinus'' <small>[[George Shaw (biologist)|Shaw]], 1791</small>
*''Melursus lybius'' <small>[[Friedrich Albrecht Anton Meyer|Meyer]], 1793</small>
| range_map  = Sloth Bear area.png
| range_map_caption = Sloth bear range<br/>(black – former, green – extant)
}}

The '''sloth bear''' ('''''Melursus ursinus'''''), also known as the '''Indian bear''', is a [[myrmecophagous]] [[bear]] [[species]] native to the [[Indian subcontinent]]. It feeds on [[fruit]]s, [[ants]] and [[termites]]. It is listed as [[Vulnerable species|vulnerable]] on the [[IUCN Red List]], mainly because of [[habitat loss]] and [[Habitat degradation|degradation]].<ref name=iucn/> It is the only species in the genus '''''Melursus'''''.

It has also been called "labiated bear" because of its long lower lip and palate used for sucking up insects.<ref name="elliott" /> It has long, shaggy fur, a mane around the face, and long, sickle-shaped claws. It is lankier than [[brown bear|brown]] and [[Asian black bear]]s.
It shares features of [[insectivorous]] mammals and evolved during the [[Pleistocene]] from the ancestral brown bear through [[divergent evolution]].

Sloth bears breed during spring and early summer and give birth near the beginning of winter. When their territories are encroached upon by humans, they sometimes attack them. Historically, humans have drastically reduced these bears' habitat and diminished their population by hunting them for food and products such as their [[baculum|bacula]] and claws. Sloth bears have been tamed and used as performing animals and as pets.<ref>[[#Servheen|Servheen]]</ref>