Date:14/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/14/stories/2008041458030200.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Sloth bear, latest addition to Vandalur zoo

P. Oppili

Three-and-a-half-month-old female cub is
healthy and active

— PHOTO: A. MURALITHARAN

The newborn sloth bear cub at the at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur on Sunday.

CHENNAI: A newborn sloth bear cub is likely to be an interesting attraction at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur, this summer.

The three-and-half-month-old female cub is yet to be put in the exhibit area.

P.L. Ananthasamy, Chief Conservator of Forests and Zoo Director, said the sloth bear has been bred successfully in captivity here after a long time.

A couple of years ago, a cub was born. But as its mother did not provided adequate care to the new born, the cub died soon after.

Before that, there were no records of any successful breeding of sloth bears in the zoo.

When authorities became aware that the female sloth bear Banu was pregnant, they isolated her from other bears. Banu was given special bedding material in her enclosure.

When she gave birth, no one was allowed inside her enclosure for the first few days. After this, the animal keeper was allowed to clean the enclosure twice a day. “Only when we realised that the animal had accepted the presence of a stranger [the animal keeper] inside its enclosure, did the animal keeper begin going into the enclosure at regular intervals,” Mr Ananthasamy said.

He added that that even today, only the animal keeper was allowed to enter the bear’s enclosure. The cub, healthy and active, fondly chews on sweet lemon, guava, banana, cucumber and boiled rice mixed with honey and milk besides boiled tapioca, the animal keeper said.