India: Dancing Bears
- There are approximately 8,000 sloth bears left in the wild in the Indian sub-continent.
- Sloth bears are classified by the World Conservation Union as being vulnerable.
- They live to over 20 years in the wild.
- Their diet consists mainly of ants and termites.
- It has been illegal to own or ‘dance’ a bear in India since 1972.
- However, illegal trade continues with more than 100 cubs illegally captured from the wild each year and sold.
- It is estimated that nearly 200 sloth bears are still forced to ‘dance’ by Kalandar nomads in India.
- They rarely survive more than seven to eight years as dancing bears.
- Threats to their survival include being poached from the wild for use as dancing bears or for their body parts for use in Traditional Chinese Medicines.
> Sloth Bears: Read Barbara Hadley’s study (PDF 132k)
> Agra: Learn more about our bear sanctuary in Agra
> Bannerghatta: Learn more about our bear sanctuary in Bannerghatta
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News update from Indonesia
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