MAMMAL MONDAY # 42

MAMMAL MONDAY #42!

We sure hope everyone enjoyed meeting some amazing Olympic Athletes last week! We’re back to our regular Mammal Monday and we’re off to South Asia today to meet one lazy mammal! Ok, they’re not really lazy, but they are named after a lazy animal! Are you ready?

MEET THE SLOTH BEAR!

   Range/Habitat: South Asia/ forests, rainforests, scrub

   Diet: Omnivore: ants, termites, fruits

   Length/Weight: 4 ½-6 ft/120-420 lb

   Conservation Status: vulnerable

Fun Facts:

• Sloth bears have shaggy fur with a white V pattern on their chest.
• Sloth bears are nocturnal (active at night).
• They have non-retraceable claws used for digging up prey.
• Sloth bears close their nostrils and suck up ants and termites!
• You can hear a sloth bear suck up bugs up to 100 meters away.
• They have an excellent sense of smell to locate food!
• Sloth bears often stand up on their hind legs to look for danger.

Sloth bears are funny looking with their shaggy fur-dos! Can you imagine having to suck up termites for your dinner? Yuck!