Radio collar to monitor sloth bears in Karnataka

Bengaluru: Sloth bears in Karnataka will be radio-collared as part of a five-year project to monitor the animals’ movement and prevent conflict with humans.

NGO Wildlife SOS has undertaken a project, with forest department assisting it in fitting GPS device. To date, nine sloth bears have been radio-collared, with the recent one being a male in Gudekote Sloth Bear Sanctuary in Ballari district. 

The NGO said the objective is to understand sloth bear movements in Ballari, Koppal and Tumakuru districts. It will identify factors contributing to human-sloth conflict, study population status and also distribution of sloth bears, it said.

Arun A Sha, Director-Research and Veterinary Operations, Wildlife SOS, said the project will generate habitat-specific and species-specific management recommendations for many species that co-exist in and share sloth bear habitats.