Sloth Bear Gallery

Sloth bear, Ursus ursinus (vulnerable)

Sloth bear, Ursus ursinus (vulnerable) and hog badger, Arctonyx collaris (near threatened).. Handcolored copperplate stipple engraving from Frederic Cuvier's Dictionary of Natural Science: Mammals, Paris, France, 1816. Illustration by J. G. Pretre, engraved by Plee, directed by Pierre Jean-Francois Turpin, and published by F.G. Levrault. Jean Gabriel Pretre (1780-1845) was painter of natural history at Empress Josephine's zoo and later became artist to the Museum of Natural History

© Florilegius / Mary Evans

Sloth bear (Ursus ursinus)

Sloth bear (Ursus ursinus), claw marks on bark of Frankincense tree (Boswellia sp.). Satpura National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India

© Mary Ann McDonald/AUSCAPE All rights reserved

Markings, Scratch

Eremotherium approaches a pair of Arctodus grazing on trees

Eremotherium approaches a pair of Arctodus grazing on trees. Eremotherium was a giant ground sloth of North and South America that lived 800, 000 to 11, 000 years ago. They were heavily built and grew up to 20 feet long. Arctodus, or the Short Faced Bear, is the largest bear ever and the largest ever North American mamallian predator. Large short faced bears were 5-6 feet high at the shoulder and could stand on their hind legs up to 12 feet or slightly more. They were also known as running bears because of their longer forelimbs allowing them to be distance/marathon runners. They lived from Canada to Florida for nearly 800, 000 years

© Arthur Dorety/Stocktrek Images