Part Bear, Part Sloth? - The Real Jungle Book Baloo

Today's Natural World, 8pm, BBC2 takes a look at my favourite bear - The Sloth Bear.

Written by Paul Williams

What on Earth is a Sloth Bear?

A battered wooden crate arrived in London for Mr Shaw, it was marked 'Urgent Attention - South America'. Shaw, a gentleman naturalist, excitedly opened the crate and pulled out a thick black shaggy fur - it was slightly damp and smelling of mould. Spreading it on a large oak table in the centre of his crowded study, he ran his hands through the knotted hair, reflecting on it's similarity to the overgrown coat of a dog. Next he came across the animals long soft tubular snout, immediately seeing the resemblance to another peculiar creature from South America which has recently been named as the anteater. But this animal was much larger and it's skin and dentition much different.

Like the anteater however its eyes were tiny and recessed suggesting an animal with poor vision. Shaw already had his suspicions on where to place this creature in the animal classification system, but what convinced him so completely were the huge 4 inch curved claws protruding from each of it's short limbs.

Sloths were already known from South America and this was obviously some sort of giant form - like other sloths it used these inward pointing claws to hang from trees. The year was 1790 and Shaw proudly announced this new species naming it Bradypus pentadactylus - the 5 fingered sloth.

It later transpired that the crate Shaw had received originated in India and not South America at all. A mix up which created the curious beginning of the scientific identification of the Indian Honey Bear - The Sloth Bear.

The Real Jungle Book Bear

This is the bear that the Jungle Book's Baloo is based on. The real Baloo does chase fancy ants, but his life is a lot tougher than that of his fictional friend. Showing on BBC2 tonight is 'The Real Jungle Book Bear', narrated by David Attenborough, this the first film ever made on these shy creatures and it follows a young male called Baloo as he grows up in the harsh Karnataka landscape, fending off foes and finding food. Baloo's mother is also nearby with two new cubs on her back, trying to keep them safe from prowling leopards. BBC Programme Page

I've been lucky enough to spend time with several types of bears but when I visited Karnataka a few years ago I found sloth bears to be the most endearing and characterful of them all.

As I wrote at the time "As he walked his fluffy backside swayed like a big furry John Wayne. He looked satisfied as he approached a nice patch of honey. Adjusting his posture and almost crossing his legs, he hunched over to crinkle his soft snout up against the ground - like a pig snorting in a trough.  When he was finished with one patch he stood up and waddled across to another.  Not a care in the world the bear was completely oblivious to our presence.

Sloth Bears have really poor eye sight and can see little further than 10 metres, so as long as we remained still and silent we would be able to observe the bears in all their slobbering glory. Occasionally our young male surfaced for a breather, raising his nose and opening his mouth like a panting dog. He was tasting the air and I wondered if he could detect the strangers in his midst. If he could then he must have decided that he had more important matters to attend to and chowed back down."

"While he sniffed directly in my direction I caught a superb view of his strange dentures. Unlike other bears, sloth bears have a mouth like a pensioner - almost barren of teeth. This is an adaptation for getting closer to food, such as their favourite wild delicacy - termites. Their four-inch claws rip open the mound, they shove their muzzle in, and then suck like a hoover. The sounds can be heard from hundreds of metres away. This bear was entertaining us with a range of sounds that I've only ever heard before in a gents loo - and like a gents loo a few more individuals eventually appeared and joined in the chorus."

"He lumbered over to another and unexpectadly pounced on him, bearing his teeth - it could easily be mistaken for aggression but was simply a case of play fighting. Failing to get the desired response the small bear quickly switched to another, and he continued for the best part of an hour, by which time the sugar rush had worn off and he tuckered down for more honey." Excerpt from my field blog

Sadly many sloth bears live a very different life. Seeing bears in the wild made my subsequent trip to the Bannerghata Bear Rescue Centre even more heart-wrenching. I met Samad Kottur of Wildlife SOS, who works to protect and rescue sloth bears who have been sold into a life of dancing.

Stolen from their mothers young sloth bear cubs are sold to the traditional dancing bear community known as Kollanders. 'Here they begin a life of pain and discomfort.' Sammad told me that 'after a few months their canines are ripped out, their claws are clipped, males are castrated and a red hot iron is used to pierce their sensitive nuzzle through which a coarse rope is threaded.' it is the pain of pulling on this rope that makes them dance as they are dragged from village to village and made to perform, standing on their hind legs and used as puppets on a string.

'They are severely malnourished and are only given the very poorest food to survive on' says Sammad who is still moved to tears by his experiences 'when we rescue them they are in really bad shape'.

Here's a short film I made during my visit: