Hence, females have breeding intervals of two or three years. These animals were initially classified as bear sloths, due to their slow gait and ability to climb trees. Sloth bears have a long, rough and shaggy coat of thick, reddish-brown to black fur. There is little hair on their underbelly. Some sloth bears also have a white muzzle and white paw tips.
Sloth bears prefer to forage at night, in a solitary fashion, when temperatures are cooler.
However, females with cubs forage during the day, so as not to compete with other bears or nocturnal predators for resources. Perhaps another reason that sloth bears were thought to be sloths was their massive consumption of insects, especially termites. Because termite and ant colonies are an abundant and consistent source of food for sloth bears, they are the only bear specifically adapted for feeding on insects. Then, they blow away the dirt and debris with their long, mobile lips. Finally, with a huge breath, the sloth bear sucks out the termites.