Sloth Bear Attacks: causes and consequences
Thomas Sharp
Wildlife SOS / SWCA Environmental Consultants
Salt Lake City UT 84105 USA
Member: Sloth Bear Expert Team
Email: tsharp@swca.com
Dr. Swapnil D. Sonone
Youth for Nature Conservation Organization
Amravati, Maharaashtra, India
Email: drssonone@gmail.com
Throughout the Indian subcontinent, sloth bears are known for their potential to become aggressive toward humans
(Higgins 1932, Norris 1969, Seshadri 1969, Laurie and Seidensticker 1977, Phillips 1984, Krishna Raju et al. 1987, Gopal
1991, Rajpurohit and Krausman 2000, Bargali et al 2005, Akhtar 2006, Ratnayeke et al. 2007a). They are secretive animals
that appear to avoid human contact whenever possible and seem to have a low tolerance toward people when they do
inadvertently meet (Garshelis et al. 1999). Unfortunately, they often encounter humans in agricultural fields or when people
enter the forest to gather food or wood. The potential danger this bear poses to humans often makes it difficult to garner
local support for conservation efforts (Bargali et al 2005, Akhtar 2006, Dharaiya and Ratnayeke 2009).
Sloth bear–human conflicts appear to be on the rise in many parts of India, and seem correlated with increased human
encroachment and disturbance as well as habitat degradation (Bargali et al 2005, Akhtar 2006, Dharaiya and Ratnayeke
2009). The widespread nature of the attacks reflects the fact that sloth bears are still relatively widespread in India. The sloth
bear has thus far been able to persevere in areas that have become either degraded or small isolated pockets of habitat. Most
other large mammals have simply not been able to hang on in these areas. The reasons for the sloth bears perseverance in
these areas are largely wrapped in its ecology, notably: 1) the sloth bear is a very secretive animal; 2) it is largely nocturnal; 3)
it has a very small home range for a bear (Joshi et al 1995, Ratnayeke et al. 2007b); 4) it is largely myrmecophagous (ant and
termite eater), and studies have suggested that myrmecophagous mammals are better able to deal with habitat fragmentation
than other similar-sized mammals (Abensperg-Traun 1991); 5) it is found in many habitat types; and 6) it is socially tolerant
of other sloth bears as long as food is plentiful (Laurie and Seidensticker 1977, Joshi et al. 1999). These factors are all
beneficial to the bear’s survival in increasingly fragmented habitats.
However, when faced with a fight or flight situation the sloth bear has also evolved an extremely violent aggressive tendency.
This aggressive behavior most likely evolved due to sharing habitat with and encountering other large mammals, such
as elephants and rhinoceroses, and predators, most notably tigers, leopards, and dholes (Garshelis et al. 1999). The same
behavior is often directed toward humans, inevitably with bad outcomes for both the human and the bear. These encounters
now form a different sort of threat to the sloth bear, which results from the attitudes and actions of the people who live in
proximity. So the question remains whether the human element will tolerate this animal in increasingly close quarters.
Here we document a particularly severe attack that occurred near a tiger reserve in central India. The documentation of
these events add to the growing body of knowledge of sloth bear attacks, with the hope that further understanding may lead
to future mitigation efforts and more effective conservation.
On 4 August 2010, in a small village located in the multiple use area of the Melghat Tiger Reserve, a lone bear wandered
into Jarida village and before the night was over four people were killed and another two injured. The bear was first spotted
around the village that morning, between 0700–0800 and again around 1200. Each time it was sighted the villagers threw
rocks at the bear.
At roughly 2030, Mr. Vairale, a daily wages labor worker for forest department, mistakenly thought the bear was a buffalo,
as it was dark and there is no electricity in the village. When he approached, the bear growled and gave a minor charge. Mr.
Vairale threw a blanket at the bear and ran to the nearest house. The bear did not chase the man but dispatched the blanket
and ran in the opposite direction trying to get away. Mr. Wakode, a forest guard, and Mr. Tumre heard a scream and went to
investigate. They flashed a light at the bear, and just as they did a dog approached and started barking at it. The bear, agitated
by the light and the barking dog, chased after the dog. The guard pointed his torch at the bear at which point it turned
toward the light and attacked Mr. Wakode, who died of severe injuries on the way to the hospital.
After that incident the bear tried to hide in a vacant house. By 2100, villagers had formed a mob with torches and were
looking for the bear. Though details are not clear as to exactly what happened next, since nobody witnessed the whole
incident, the bear became agitated by the mob and charged a group of villagers following behind the mob. Mr. Parte was
killed on the spot. The mob continued to throw rocks and distract the bear. The bear, in a panic, turned and ran at another
man, Mr. Jagdev, who was just outside his front door. The bear grabbed him by the hand, and although injured, Mr. Jagdevwas eventually able to get inside his house and close the door. The bear hid in the house next door for 10–15 minutes until
the owner drove it away by shouting and throwing burning papers at it.
The bear then ran a short distance and hid in a lantana bush where it stayed until four teachers came walking over to see
what the disturbance was about. Unknowingly, one of the teachers pointed his flashlight at the bear, which caused it to
charge the men and attack Mr. Dhakate, who was on his cell phone. Mr. Dhakate was badly injured and eventually died. The
bear was chased off by a man on a motorcycle by 22 00.
Soon after a group of students approached, and hearing the shouts they all ran. One student, Satish Mowaskar, ran a different
direction from the other students and the bear chased him down and fatally injured him. After this attack the bear found
another building to hide in until about 0300 the next morning when it was chased from this building and eventually made its
way out of the village and back to the forest.
This bear purportedly involved in these incidents was killed two days later (7 August). It was tracked and found 2 km from
Jarida Village. It was positively identified by the markings on its chest and some singed fur. The necropsy of the dead bear
found that it was an adult male, estimated to be 6 years old. The virology report states that the bear’s brain was normal. By
all accounts this was a normal, healthy adult male bear.
It is apparent that from the time the bear entered the village it had been harassed by the local villagers (i.e. throwing stones
and other objects, and chasing the bear). As the incidents escalated the bear was caught in a continuing fight or flight
situation. When its escape was continually cut off, it reacted by attacking violently, which is an important survival behavior
in this species. In this case the bear probably felt its life was in danger. There is no evidence to suggest that the bear was
rabid or otherwise sick. The continual harassment and chaos throughout the day may have put the animal on edge.
Is it possible that the limiting factor for some sloth bear populations, at least for some small, isolated populations, is
retribution killings? There are reasons to believe this could be the case: 1) there are multiple documented incidents of
retribution killings of sloth bears (Akhtar 2006, Dharaiya and Ratnayeke 2009); 2) it seems likely that only a very small
fraction of sloth bears killed by humans, as retribution or otherwise, are documented; 3) sloth bear attacks on humans
appear to be on the rise; and 4) it is difficult to gain momentum for sloth bear conservation in parts of India where bear
attacks are relatively common (Akhtar 2006, Dharaiya and Ratnayeke 2009). Though villagers in parts of India still possess,
at least the remnants of, a conservation ethic (Bargali et al. 2005), bear attacks (and the fear of attacks) may be severely
testing this ethic.
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