What is the social structure of the sloth? Thank you! :) Solution Sloth bears ar

Question

Explanation / Answer

Sloth bears are solitary, but territoriality has not been observed Individual home ranges overlap considerably, though the extent of overlap varies among localities, perhaps depending on the resource abundance in an area seasonal home ranges overlapped extensively among adults of the same sex (>50%) and between adults and subadults of both sexes (>70%) and that the zones of overlap were used in proportion to their area. However, they observed that subadults and females with dependant young limited their activity to daylight hours and they proposed that this might be to temporally avoid other bears or predators. All adult males that use the home range of a female may attempt to mate with her when she comes in oestrus. Groups of males congregate around a receptive female and all may breed, apparently in a rank order, as the same order of mating may occur among the same group of males with different females Occasional noisy interactions between bears were observed during all times of the year, mostly between males. During the mating period there are increased noisy interactions and fighting between males Cubs are frequently carried on their mothers’ backs from the time they leave the den until they are about six months of age Carrying cubs by the mother seems to be a defence against attacks by predators or other bears. Cubs stay with their mothers for 1.5 or 2.5 years, becoming independent just before the breeding season Thus, females breed at either two- or three-year intervals. The mother-young unit is the only long-lasting social grouping exhibited by the sloth bear Sloth bears sometimes gather at abundant food sources, such as a dense patch of a fruiting plant Pairs of subadults have been observed to associate for extended periods suggested that this coalition is formed to defend them from older bears or predators. They also recognise that the social system of the sloth bear fits well within the range observed among other bear species, although some traits like cub-carrying and mutual tolerance may be related to myrmecophagy. Prey/predator relation Predation has been surmised to be responsible for several behaviour

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse W
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.