 Sloth
bear cubs on the go!
Woodland
Park Zoo’s sloth bear cubs are outside on exhibit daily
from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The
two male cubs, weighing around 24-28 pounds apiece, began
life estimated at about 1 pound each when they were born to
the zoo’s 5-year-old female on January 4, 2004.
The
cubs enjoy a number of foods including hard-boiled eggs, fruit
preserves and bone marrow. Khali (call-LEE), the mother, is
showing excellent maternal care. “Like typical bear
cubs, they’re very playful and curious,” says
Dr. Nancy Hawkes, the zoo’s general curator, “and
they’re demonstrating very good physical motor skills.”
Unlike
other bear species, sloth bear (Melursus ursinus)
mothers carry cubs on their back when they reach about 2 months
old. Sloth bear births are very rare in zoos and very little
is known about these endangered bears in zoos or in the wild.
Their primary ranges are in lower elevations of Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. As one of the least studied
of bear species, scientists believe less than 10,000 still
exist in the wild. Only 18 individuals live in North American
zoos.
Woodland
Park Zoo is participating in the Species Survival
Plan for
sloth bears, a cooperative
breeding program that helps ensure genetic
diversity and demographic
stability in North American zoos. |
