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Sloth bears behave aggressively toward humans when threatened and are among the most dangerous wildlife in India. Safety messaging for those who live in sloth bear country must be accurate to be effective, and messaging may need to be modified to account for regional differences in human-bear relationships. The timing of sloth bear attacks on the Deccan Plateau of Karnataka, both by season and by time of day, deviated enough from those reported in other areas such that it warranted further investigation. We compared data from eight studies of human-sloth bear conflict from across the Indian subcontinent and explored possibilities as to why differences exist. Seasonally all studies reported that human-sloth bear conflict was highest when human activity in the forest was greatest, though the season of highest human activity varied significantly by region (χ2 = 5921, df = 5, P < 0.001). The time of day that the majority of attacks occurred also varied significantly by region (χ2 = 666, df = 5, P < 0.001), though human activity was relatively consistent. We speculated that the rate of day attacks on the Deccan Plateau was lower due to the reduced probability of encountering a sleeping bear as they are concealed and secure in shallow caves. Additionally, the rate of attacks was significantly higher at night on the Deccan Plateau because people often to work into nighttime. We concluded that slight differences, or different emphasis, to bear safety messaging may be necessary on a regional basis to keep the messaging accurate and effective.

Little is known about Sloth bear Melursus ursinus birthing behaviour and denning. The Wildlife SOS Bannerghatta Bear Rescue Centre, India, which houses rescued bears, is visited by wild male Sloth bears during the breeding season (April–July). Two female Sloth bears have been impregnated by these wild males, giving researchers the opportunity to observe maternal behaviour closely. One female bear made use of an excavated a den to give birth and raise her cubs. A second bear gave birth in an excavated shallow cavity. Neither mother left the cubs for food or water for weeks (22 and 28 days, respectively). In the first case, the cubs eventually joined their mother leaving the den for food and water 20 days after the mother had initially left the den alone, whereas in the second case, the cub still had not joined the mother on outings for provisions after 68 days, when both were moved from the den area.

Sloth bears (Melursus ursinus) use resting and maternal dens. Resting dens are used by both sexes, usually during the mid‐day when sloth bears are least active. Maternal dens are used by female bears to give birth and raise cubs. The purpose of our study was to better understand the denning ecology of sloth bears in eastern Karnataka so that important denning habitat can be delineated and protected. We documented resting and maternal dens from 2014 to 2018 in 5 different study areas surrounded by agriculture and orchards in eastern Karnataka, India. We used landscape and site‐specific variables to model the probability of den occurrence. The best fit model for approximating maternal den site selection included distance to forest border, protection level, aspect, slope, and elevation. The best fit model for approximating resting den site selection included distance to forest border, aspect, slope, protection level and ruggedness. Maternal dens were closer to forest borders than resting dens. We postulate that areas near the forest border are chosen for access to resources and that mothers choose dens closer to edges because of the constraints and needs of cubs. In poorly protected, resource‐deficient areas, selection of maternal dens near habitat edges presents a tradeoff between higher resource availability closer to human habitation, reduced risk of cub predation, and higher risk of human‐caused mortality compared to areas farther from forest borders. Resting and maternal dens were farther from forest borders in better‐protected areas, suggesting that if resources are prevalent in the habitat, bears would use locations farther from the forest borders.

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