Image of sloth of bears quenching thirst at a waterhole in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve has been captured in a camera trap.
The image a mother bear and its two cubs is believed to have been captured at a location near Naripallam in T.N. Palayam Range, local sources said.
Dense forests between Kadambur and Dhimbam serve as ideal habitat for the bears. The population of the bears that was estimated to be around 50 in STR has increased substantially in all probability, according toForest Department officials.
The bear population is most likely increasing in Kundri, Malliyamdurgam, and Naripallam areas where the animals feed on grass, roots, berries and insects, sources said. Forest Department officials have advised dwellers in settlements on the hills to avoid going close to tamarind trees, citing the instance of a recent bear attack of a passer-by at Malliamdurgam.
Though bears are loners, sighting of sloths, though rare, is not unusual since a mother bear tends to its cubs for a minimum of one year, protecting them from older male bears. The adult bear separates after teaching its cubs ways to find food and survive on their own, according to wildlife experts.
