Zookeepers are hand-rearing this amazingly cute sloth bear cub. They're doing it because the cub's mom Khali ate the baby girl's two siblings.

The three cubs were born at the National Zoo on Dec. 29, 2013. The first cub was "ingested," as the zoo put it in a news release, about 20 minutes after being born -- which was not, evidently, especially alarming since "it is not uncommon" for sloth bears and other carnivores "to ingest stillborn cubs, or even live cubs if they or the mother are compromised in some way."

Seven days later, Khali then ate the second cub. "At that point," said the zoo in its news release, "keepers decided the only way the remaining cub would likely survive was to retrieve her from Khali’s den."

A veterinary examination found the remaining cub to be weak and dangerously cold, perhaps due to not having been cuddled by her mother. She was treated and stabilized, then on Jan. 9, when it was time to leave the veterinary hospital, the zoo felt it would be best to find her a different environment.


Zookeepers have been staying with the ursine youngster around the clock, bottle-feeding her and wearing her in a sling to simulate the contact she would have had with her mother (sloth bear mothers carry their cubs on their backs).


Now that she is a little older, zoo staff also spend time playing with the cub, who is living in the sloth bear habitat, in a separate pen from the other bears.
Source

In this adorable video, a mom and her newborn are eating what looks to be a pretty great breakfast full of carrots, squash and lettuce.

 The clip was uploaded by the Minnesota Zoo back in March, where the little fella was born on February 3, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Unfortunately, sloths often find themselves embroiled in the illegal pet trade and were ranked number one on the list of illegally traded animals from Columbia last year, according to a Nightline report. Environmentalists say the animals suffer from the "curse" of being cute. (Source)


Three-toed sloths feed upon leaves such as cecropia leaves, tree shoots and fruits. The animals derive most of their water intake from plants. Three-toed sloths are nocturnal feeders, as they can spend up to 20 hours of their day sleeping. They have fur that grows from the underbelly toward their back.


During rainy seasons, water will trickle off of their fur. Water becomes trapped, allowing algae colonies to grow. A sloth will occasionally lick the algae, which can provide additional nutrients to the animal, according to the website Enchanted Learning.(Source)

Buddu wandered into the village following a herd of goats, and ended up staying with the Kisan family. If you're concerned about Buddu's fate, worry no more. The cub, seen here getting his hair combed by Juli, was taken from the family by wildlife officials Friday.

The sloth bear (Ursus ursinus =Melursus ursinus), also known as the labiated bear, is a nocturnal insectivorous species of bear found wild within the Indian subcontinent. The sloth bear evolved from ancestral brown bears during the Pleistocene and shares features found in insect-eating mammals through convergent evolution. The population isolated in Sri Lanka is considered as a subspecies. Unlike brown and black bears, sloth bears have lankier builds, long shaggy coats that form a mane around the face, long sickle shaped claws, and a specially adapted lower lip and palate used for sucking insects. Sloth bears breed during spring and early summer and give birth near the beginning of winter. They feed on termites, honeybee colonies and fruits.

Adult sloth bears may travel in pairs, with the males being gentle with cubs. They may fight for food. They walk in a slow, shambling motion, with their feet being set down in a noisy, flapping motion. They are capable of galloping faster than running humans. Although they appear slow and clumsy, sloth bears are excellent climbers. They climb to feed and rest, though not to escape enemies, as they prefer to stand their ground. They are capable of climbing on smooth surfaces and hang upside down like sloths.They are good swimmers, and primarily enter water to play.

To mark their territory, sloth bears will scrape trees with their forepaws, and rub against them with their flanks. Sloth bears have a great vocal range. Gary Brown, in his Great Bear Almanac lists over 25 different sounds in 16 different contexts. Sounds such as barks, screams, grunts, roars, snarls, wickers, woofs and yelps are made when angered, threatening or when fighting. When hurt or afraid, they shriek, yowl or whimper. When feeding, sloth bears make loud huffing and sucking noises, which can be heard over 100 metres away. Sounds such as gurgling or humming are made by bears resting or sucking their paws. Sows will emit crooning sounds to their cubs. The species is the most vociferous when mating, and make loud, melodious calls when doing so. Sloth bears do not hibernate. They make their day beds out of broken branches in trees, and will rest in caves during the wet season. Sloth bears are the most nocturnal of bears, though sows become more active in daytime when with cubs. (Via Wikipedia)