Editing Sloth bear (section)

== Cultural references ==

[[Charles Catton the younger|Charles Catton]] included the bear in his 1788 book ''[[Animals Drawn from Nature and Engraved in Aqua-tinta]]'', describing it as an "animal of the bear-kind" and saying it was properly called the "Petre Bear".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Catton|first1=Charles|title=Animals drawn from Nature and engraved in aqua-tinta|date=1788|publisher=I. and J. Taylor|chapter-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Animals_drawn_from_Nature_and_engraved_in_aqua-tinta#plate10|chapter=Animal of the bear-kind, Plate 10|access-date=30 November 2017|archive-date=13 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413235717/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Animals_drawn_from_Nature_and_engraved_in_aqua-tinta#plate10|url-status=live}}</ref>

In [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s ''[[The Jungle Book]]'', [[Baloo]] "the sleepy old brown bear" teaches [[the Law of the Jungle]] to the wolf cubs of the Seeonee wolf pack, as well as to his most challenging pupil, the "man-cub" [[Mowgli]]. [[Robert Armitage Sterndale]], from whom Kipling derived most of his knowledge of Indian fauna, used the Hindustani word ''bhalu'' for several bear species, though Daniel Karlin, who edited the Penguin Classics reissue of ''The Jungle Book'' in 1989, stated, with the exception of colour, Kipling's descriptions of Baloo are consistent with the sloth bear, as brown bears and Asian black bears do not occur in the [[Seoni]] area where the novel takes place. Also, the name "sloth" can be used in the context of sleepiness. Karlin states, however, that Baloo's diet of ".. only roots and nuts and honey" is a trait more common to the Asian black bear than to the sloth bear.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Kipling, Rudyard|author2=Karlin, Daniel|title=The Jungle Books|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UrJOKXFEPAwC&pg=PA350|year=1989|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-14-018316-0|pages=350–|access-date=29 October 2016|archive-date=10 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210170620/https://books.google.com/books?id=UrJOKXFEPAwC&pg=PA350|url-status=live}}</ref>

Local names:

* {{langx|as|ভালুক}}, ''bhaluk''
* {{langx|gu|રીંછ}}, ''rīn̄ch''; also ''rinchh''<ref name="india">{{cite book |author=Finn, F. |year=1929 |title=Sterndale's Mammalia of India. A New and Abridged Edition, thoroughly revised and with an Appendix on the Reptilia |location=Calcutta and Simla |publisher=Thacker, Spink & Co |url=https://archive.org/details/mammaliaofindia033244mbp}}</ref>
* {{langx|hi|भालू}}, ''bhālū''; {{langx|hi|रीछ|translit=rīch|label=none}}<ref name="india" />
* {{langx|or|ଭାଲୁ}}, ''bhālu''
* {{langx|bn|শ্লথ ভালুক}}, ''ślath bhaluk''; ''kālō bhāluk''; also ''bhaluk''<ref name="india" />
* {{langx|sa|ऋक्ष}}, ''ṛkṣa''; also ''rikspa''<ref name="india" />
* {{langx|kn|ಕರಡಿ}}, ''karaḍi''; ''kaddi''<ref name="india" />
* {{langx|ta|கரடி}}, ''karaṭi''; ''kaddi''<ref name="india" />
* {{langx|ml|കരടി}}, ''karaṭi''<ref name="india" />
* {{langx|te|ఎలుగుబంటి}}, ''elugubaṇṭi''; also ''elugu''<ref name="india" />
* {{langx|mr|अस्वल}}, ''asval''; also ''aswal''<ref name="india" />
* [[Gondi language|Gond]]: ''yerid'', ''yedjal'' and ''asol''<ref name="india" />
* [[Ho language|Kol]]: ''bana''<ref name="india" />
* [[Kurukh language|Oraon]]: ''bir mendi''<ref name="india" />
* {{langx|si|වලසා}}, ''valasā''; also ''usa''<ref name="india" />
*{{Langx|ne|भालु}}, bhālu
*{{Langx|pa|ਰਿੱਛ}}, ''richh''