sloth bear

noun

: a forest-dwelling bear (Melurus ursinus) of India and adjacent regions that has long black hair, very large claws, and a long snout and that feeds chiefly on insects

Examples of sloth bear in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web And then there are sloth bears, which mostly eat social insects. Kate Wong, Scientific American, 4 Oct. 2023 Malu wanted to see sloth bears, the national symbol, and howler monkeys. Shoba Narayan, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Oct. 2023 As if these sloth bear cubs couldn't get any cuter! Kate Hogan, Peoplemag, 31 May 2023 The sloth bear has a grey/white snout and black shaggy fur. Zachary Smith, cleveland, 25 Aug. 2023 The babies are the first sloth bears born at the zoo in more than 30 years. Kate Hogan, Peoplemag, 31 May 2023 Unwitting encounters are especially frequent with black bears and sloth bears in South Asia, whereas deliberate attacks by hungry bears are uncommon. Daniel Lingenhöhl, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2023 There are also Asian elephants, peacocks, water buffalo, monkeys, and sloth bears. Larry Olmsted, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2023 The Philadelphia Zoo just got a bit cuter thanks to two sloth bear cubs that were born last month. Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 21 Feb. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sloth bear.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sloth bear was in 1835

Dictionary Entries Near sloth bear

Cite this Entry

“Sloth bear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sloth%20bear. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.

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