懒熊研究学和花豹单杀亚成年懒熊.pdfVIP

J. South Asian nat Hist, ISSN 1022-0828. February, 1996. Vol.2, No. 1, pp. 49-60,6 figs., 3 tabs. © Wildlife Heritage Trust of Sri Lanka, 95 Cotta Road, Colombo 8, Sri Lanka. An ecological study of the sloth bear, Melursus ursinus, in Ruhuna National Park, Sri Lanka Padma K. de S ilv a*, B.V.R. Jayaratne** and Mangala de Silva* Abstract The sloth bear population of the Ruhuna National Park (RNP).was studied for two years in an area of 140 km2. The study area consisted mainly of scrub and grassland with scattered tall trees. The number of adult sloth bears in the study area was estimated as 19 (an average crude density 0.14 km2), but the crude density was higher in the coastal region (0.35 km-2) than in the inner region (0.09 km-2). This difference is probably due to the availability of more food and water in the coastal area. The number of cubs present during the study period was estimated to be five. The sloth bears were mostly seen as solitary individuals, but pairs and, occasionally, groups of up to four individuals were also seen. During daylight hours the bear was most active in the study area after 1600 hrs and least active around midday. They were more frequently seen during the period May to August and November, and were seen to feed on termites and fruits of several tree and shrub species. Breeding appears to occur throughout the year. Cubs were seen during most of the months. Adult females were observed with one or two cubs, females with single cubs being more common. Key words: sloth bear, Melursus, ecology, population, density, tropical, Sri Lanka. Introduction The sloth bear, Melursus ursinus (Shaw, 1791) is found in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka and is considered to be a threatened species wherever they occur (IUCN, 1994). The sloth bears are unique among ursids in being predominantly myrmecophagous, although they also feed commonly on small fruits. The