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Sloth bears play a critical role in structuring India\u2019s dry deciduous forests by dispersing viable seeds and influencing plant regeneration, reports<\/a> contributor Sneha Mahale for Mongabay India.<\/p>\n \u201cDry deciduous forests\u2019 plant compositions are a function of sloth bear presence, movement, and dietary habits,\u201d study co-author K.S. Gopi Sundar, an independent scientist, told Mongabay India.<\/p>\n For the study<\/a>, \u00a0the researchers surveyed the mountainous south-central Aravalli range in the western state of Rajasthan between November 2021 and July 2022. They analyzed 180 droppings or scats of sloth bears (Melursus ursinus<\/em>)\u00a0 and discovered that the bears\u2019 diet shifted from plant-dominated in the winter to animal-dominated in the summer.<\/p>\n In winter, ants appeared in more than 80% of the scats, whereas termites dominated summer samples. Among fruits, donkey berry (Grewia flavescens<\/em>) was the most critical food source in both seasons, while Ziziphus nummularia<\/em> was favored in winter and the golden shower tree (Cassia fistula<\/em>) in summer.<\/p>\n \u201cThe strong shift in diet was of great surprise,\u201d said study co-author Utkarsh Prajapati, a senior project associate at the Wildlife Institute of India. \u201cPrevious studies on sloth bears in semi-arid regions have shown that they consume a lot of fruits<\/a> during the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n Study co-author Vijay Kumar Koli\u00a0 with the Department of Zoology at Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, said this seasonal change \u201cshowed that bears were highly adaptable, switching to foods that were more available.\u201d<\/p>\n To test whether bears help in seed dispersal, the researchers monitored the germination of eight plant species most important in the bears\u2019 diet. They planted 50 seeds of each species \u2014 25 removed from scats and 25 collected directly from fruits \u2014 and found that seeds of six species remained highly viable after passing through the bears\u2019 digestive tracts.<\/p>\n In some instances, seeds obtained from scats germinated faster. For example, Ziziphus nummularia<\/em> seeds from bear droppings germinated in just 50 days, compared to 100 days for seeds collected directly from tree fruits.<\/p>\n The researchers found that the bears may also act as vectors for invasive flora. Seeds of Lantana camara<\/em>, one of India\u2019s most aggressive invasive shrubs, collected from bear droppings germinated, while none collected directly from fruits did. (But they cautioned only three out of 25 scat-collected seeds germinated.)<\/p>\n \u201cI was surprised that lantana germinated only after the sloth bear had eaten it,\u201d Prajapati said. \u201cBecause sloth bears have relatively large home ranges, it is likely that they are dispersing lantana across large landscapes.\u201d<\/p>\n While conservation efforts in India typically focus on predators and large herbivores, the study shows the overlooked ecological contributions of omnivores, Sundar said. \u201cBut being an omnivore gives species like bears a lot of dexterity to survive in harsh locations where most species would find it hard to live throughout the year.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the full story by Sneha Mahale here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Banner image:<\/em><\/strong> Sloth bears ate a plant-dominated diet in the winter and animal-dominated in the summer. Image by Utkarsh Prajapati.<\/em><\/p>\n
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