Sloth bears fact file

Meet our Bear

We have one sloth bear here at Edinburgh Zoo called Cipísek.

He came from Zoologicka Garden & Chateau Zlin-Lesna in the Czech Republic and joined us at Edinburgh Zoo in July 2025. 

Bears

Sloth bears are one of eight bear species in the world.

Sun bears are the smallest, polar bears are the biggest.

Ever heard of a sloth bear?

A lot of people think they have never heard of sloth bears.

If you are familiar with the Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, Baloo is a sloth bear!

They are not related to sloths

Despite their name they are not related to sloths.

Sloths are from South America. They are a tree dwelling animal that loves to sleep!

Sloth bears got their name from the explorer George Shaw, who discovered them in the 1790s and thought they resembled a creature not quite a bear not quite a sloth due to: 

Distribution

Sloth bears are found in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. 

They inhabit grasslands and forested areas.

Diet

Like all bears they are omnivores, eating lots of different types of food. One thing they love more than anything is termites. They can eat up to 20,000 a day.

Cipísek gets mealworms, rice, fruit and veg here at the zoo. He finds lots of insects in logs outside too!

 Our keepers like to hide his food various enrichment devices, which keeps him busy!

Threats

Sadly sloth bears are classified as vulnerable on the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) red list, which tells us how rare an animal is.

There are thought to be around 10,000 sloth bears left in the wild. Sadly the biggest threats they face are poaching and habitat loss.

When their habitat shrinks they are pushed into close proximity with humans.

Sloth bears have a fearsome reputation for being aggressive and people often fear them which means often they are hunted or chased away.