Bear-y good news: Cleveland zoo welcomes sloth bear cub, seeks advice on name
An unusual bear cub is in Cleveland, just waiting for you to find her a name.
The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo announced Tuesday that a sloth bear cub was born back in December. The unnamed female cub weighed 16 ounces at birth and spent time bonding with her mother Shiva.
The unnamed cub is the second born to Shiva, 10, and father Balawat, 19.
Sloth bears are native to India and Sri Lanka and are listed as "vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. The bears face major threats, including habitat loss and degradation due to human population growth and human-wildlife conflict.
"Over the past few weeks, the cub has grown stronger and more active and is now able to climb onto mom’s back – a unique behavior of sloth bears as they learn to navigate their environment and an important milestone to achieve before the cub makes her debut at Susie’s Bear Hollow this spring," the zoo said in a release.
Zoo staff created a donation page to help name the cub. Donations are being accepted until midnight on March 25 for the following three names: Kamali, for "perfect lotus;" Sahana, for "patience;" and Suhani or Su for "pleasant." The name with the most donations wins.
All donations will support Saving Animals from Extinction's (SAVE) sloth bear conservation program.
"We are thrilled to welcome this new cub and proud to be part of the global effort to protect this species,” said Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s Executive Director Dr. Chris Kuhar. “The public naming opportunity gives our community the ability to make an impact to secure a future for wildlife by helping to protect sloth bears in the wild.”
What are sloth bears?
Sloth bears are a type of bear native to India, Sri Lanka and Nepal that eat termites and ants, according to the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. The bears typically have dusty-black coats, curved claws and short-haired muzzles. The Smithsonian classified the bear as vulnerable to extinction with about 20,000 or fewer animals in the wild.
"It is estimated that their population has declined by 30 to 49 percent in the last 30 years primarily due to habitat loss, but also because of poaching for parts, capture for trade and elimination as pests," the Smithsonian said. "Habitat is being transformed into human settlements, agriculture, plantations of teak and eucalyptus, and fuel wood and timber."
The bears can grow up to 6 feet tall and stand up to 3 feet high at the shoulder. At most, they weigh 300 pounds.
They are not related to sloths, and they are not slow moving, according to the San Diego Zoo.
"In fact, they’re agile bears that can run faster than a human and will attack if surprised. It was a European zoologist, George Shaw, who named the sloth bear for its long, thick claws and unusual teeth. He thought that the bear was related to the tree sloth due to these features," the San Diego Zoo wrote on a page dedicated to the sloth bear.
The bears are formidable threats to humans - but only if provoked.
"Sloth bears kill or maim more people per year than any other type of bear," the San Diego Zoo writes. "This is largely due to the fact that they live in an area where there are lots of people. Some people go out of their way to find and kill the innocent bears. This is unfortunate, because sloth bears are shy and would rather run away from human encounters."
Zoos need help naming new animals
Zoos have long enlisted people's help to name any new animal born in their care. If helping the Cleveland sloth bear cub isn't enough, other zoos need assistance.
The El Paso Zoo in Texas is accepting votes on what to name its newest baby giraffe until March 23. The calf was born in January at six feet tall to their famous giraffe couple Gigi and Juma.
The Denver Zoo is also home to a new giraffe calf and asks for at least a $5 donation to help name the endangered reticulated giraffe. The male calf was born Friday. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums' giraffe species survival program helped the Denzer Zoo with BB's, an adult female giraffe, pregnancy as part of a conservation effort to maintain and grow the species' population.
"This adorable baby boy is the first offspring for both four-year-old BB and four-year-old Jasiri, who joined DZCA in 2022 from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and Lee Richardson Zoo, respectively," the zoo wrote.
Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at knurse@USATODAY.com. Follow her on X @KrystalRNurse, and on BlueSky @krystalrnuse.bsky.social.