A 13-year-old lone sloth bear at Arignar Anna Zoological Park (AAZP), Vandalur will now have the company of two young sloth bears from Karnataka that were recently brought to the zoo under an animal exchange program.
As per AAZP authorities, a male sloth bear aged two-and-a-half years and a female aged one-and-a-half years have been acquired from the Mysuru zoo through the Central Zoo Authority of India. In return, the AAZP has given two male and four female ostriches as requested by the Karnataka government. The ostriches have been housed in the zoos at Hampi, Gadag, and Shivamogga. The AAZP now has 15 ostriches.
The new sloth bears are under quarantine for a period of four weeks after which they will be brought to the zoo, said Manikanda Prabhu, Assistant Director, AAZP. A dedicated person will be at the quarantine centre to observe the animals all throughout this period, he said. As the new sloth bears are young, it will take a while before they begin breeding, the AAZP official added.
Sloth bears (Melursus ursinus) are placed under the ‘vulnerable’ category of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. As per the IUCN, at least 90% of the present sloth bear range occurs in India.
