Bipana Maiya Sadadev, Thakur Silwal, Bijaya Dhami, Dinesh Neupane, Heather Bryan
Ursus 2024 (35e3), 1-5, (15 February 2024) https://doi.org/10.2192/URSUS-D-23-00007
KEYWORDS: Bengal tiger, camera traps, coexistence, Melursus ursinus, Nepal, Panthera tigris tigris, photographic evidence, Shuklaphanta National Park, sloth bear
Sloth bears (Melursus ursinus) are listed as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species with a global population estimate of <17,000 individuals. In southwestern Nepal, Shuklaphanta National Park includes the largest uninterrupted expanse of grassland in the region and provides suitable habitat for sloth bears. No records of sloth bears from Shuklaphanta National Park, however, have been reported since 2013. We present the first photographic evidence of a sloth bear in Shuklaphanta National Park in a decade. In addition, we observed a Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) at the same location as the sloth bear 5 days later. These observations highlight the need for further research into the occurrence and movements of sloth bears in this region as well as the extent of co-occupancy and types of interactions between sloth bears and tigers.