Editing Sloth bear (section)

=== Subspecies and range ===
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!Name!! Description!! Distribution
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| valign="top" | Indian sloth bear (''M. u. ursinus'') <small>([[George Shaw (biologist)|Shaw]], 1791)</small><br>
[[File:Bear - Melursus ursinus at Bannerghatta National Park 8469.JPG|frameless]]
| valign="top" | This is the [[nominate subspecies]] and has a large skull with a condylobasal length of about {{convert|290|mm|in|abbr=on}} in females and about {{convert|310|mm|in|abbr=on}} in males.<ref name=Pocock1941>{{cite book |author=Pocock, R. I. |year=1941 |title=The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma |location=London |publisher=Taylor and Francis |volume=2. Carnivora |chapter=''Melursus ursinus'' Shaw. The Sloth Bear |pages=189–200 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.19258/page/n213/mode/2up}}</ref>
| valign="top" | The sloth bear is the most widespread bear species in India, where it mostly occurs in areas with forest cover, low hills bordering the outer range of the [[Himalayas]] from [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]] to [[Arunachal Pradesh]]. It is absent in the high mountains of [[Himachal Pradesh]] and [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], the northwestern deserts of [[Rajasthan]], and a broad unforested swath in the south, where [[Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary]] is located.<ref name="Negi">{{cite book |last=Negi |first=S. S. |title=Handbook of National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Biosphere Reserves in India |edition=Third |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JYFmoOWfmX8C&pg=PA151 |year=2002 |publisher=Indus Publishing |isbn=978-81-7387-128-3 |page=151}}</ref> Sloth bear occurs in protected areas such as [[Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary|Shoolpaneshwar]], [[Ratanmahal Wildlife Sanctuary|Ratanmahal]], [[Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary|Jessore]],<ref name="conservation">[[#Servheen|Servheen]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20110723235317/http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org/000ADOBES/Bears/Bears_IUCN_ActionPlan/bearsAP_chapter12.pdf pp. 225–240]</ref> and [[Balaram Ambaji Wildlife Sanctuary|Balaram Ambaji]] Sanctuaries.<ref name="BalaramAmbaji2016A">{{cite web |url=http://gujenvfor.gswan.gov.in/wildlife/national-park/wildlife-balaram.htm |title=Balaram Ambaji Wild Life Sanctuary |publisher=Forests & Environment Department |access-date=8 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120214309/http://gujenvfor.gswan.gov.in/wildlife/national-park/wildlife-balaram.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 January 2016 }}</ref><ref name="BalaramAmbaji2016B">{{cite web |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/sloth-bear-killed-in-gujarat/article17489022.ece |title=Sloth bear killed in Gujarat |website=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=8 February 2016 |archive-date=12 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190912144535/https://www.thehindu.com/news/states/sloth-bear-killed-in-gujarat/article17489022.ece |url-status=live }}</ref>
In [[Nepal]], it is restricted to the [[Terai]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Joshi, A. R. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Garshelis, D. L. |author3=Smith, L. D. |year=1995 |title=Home ranges of sloth bears in Nepal: Implications for conservation |journal=Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=59 |issue= 2|pages=204–214 |doi=10.2307/3808932 |jstor=3808932 }}</ref>

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| valign="top" | [[Sri Lankan sloth bear]] (''M. u. inornatus'') <small>Pucheran, 1855</small><br>[[File:Sri Lankan sloth bear (Melursus ursinus inornatus) male 3.jpg|frameless]]
| valign="top" | The Sri Lankan sloth bear is smaller than the nominate subspecies, has a smaller skull with a condylobasal length of about {{convert|250|mm|in|abbr=on}} in females and about {{convert|264|mm|in|abbr=on}} in males.<ref name=Pocock1941/> It has much shorter body hair, and sometimes lacks the characteristic white chest mark.<ref name="final"/>
| valign="top" | At the turn of the century, the Sri Lankan sloth bear occurred throughout Sri Lanka. But due to wide-scale conversion of upland forests into tea and coffee plantations, it is now restricted to the northern and eastern lowlands.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Ratnayeke, S. |name-list-style=amp |author2=van Manen, F.T. |author3=Padmalal, U.K.G.K. |year=2007 |title=Landscape characteristics of sloth bear range in Sri Lanka |journal=Ursus  |volume=18 |issue= 2|pages=189–202 |doi= 10.2192/1537-6176(2007)18[189:LCOSBR]2.0.CO;2|s2cid=56031159 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
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