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Sloth Bears Fed on Discarded Food in Gujarat Villages; Fewer Visits Followed Cleanup

Wild sloth bear in Ranthambore National Park
Conservation: Management, Human–wildlife conflict

A 2026 study documented three cases in central Gujarat, India where sloth bears (Melursus ursinus) repeatedly entered villages or other human-use areas to feed on discarded food. The cases occurred between October and December 2024 in the wildlife corridor connecting Ratanmahal and Jambughoda wildlife sanctuaries.

At Ambakhut and Kundal villages, researchers collected nine sloth bear scats containing polystyrene and plastic bags and found disposable plates with leftover food. At the Kevdi eco-campsite, four scats contained cooked-food remains and used milk-pouch material. At Limbani, residents reported repeated visits to an anganwadi compound that provides food and basic health services to children. Discarded milk pouches were available there, and camera traps recorded bears feeding on them. Across 33 scat samples, milk pouches were the most common waste item, recorded in 60% of samples, followed by polystyrene (20%), plastic bags (11%) and cooked-food remains (9%).

The researchers worked with forest staff and local communities to remove waste. After the Kevdi campsite was cleaned, they no longer recorded sloth bears around the camp. At Limbani, cleaning was followed by meetings with teachers and children about waste disposal. No sloth bear sign was recorded during daily checks for one week and weekly visits over the next three months. The authors note that longer monitoring is needed to determine whether the effect persists.

The authors describe unmanaged food waste as a potential starting point for food conditioning, in which bears learn to return to predictable human food sources. They also warn that ingesting plastic and polystyrene can create health risks, while repeated attraction to settlements can increase the chance of close encounters. Sustained waste management and community involvement may therefore help discourage repeat visits and maintain more natural foraging patterns.

Sources and image credit

  1. Prajapati, N., Chaudhary, S., Desai, P., Chovatiya, S., Desai, V., & Dharaiya, N. (2026). Managing feeding behavior shifts of sloth bears in human-dominated areas through collaborative conservation. Ursus, 37, article e12, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.2192/URSUS-D-25-00004R1Primary research short communication published 28 July 2026. The authors document three cases of repeated sloth bear use of villages and human-use sites in central Gujarat, with scat, camera-trap and field evidence of discarded-food consumption, and report reduced bear movement after waste removal and community/forest-department action.

Image: Harsha Jayaramaiah — wild Sloth Bear in Ranthambore National Park, India, 30 May 2016. Source: Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Representative species image; not one of the Gujarat study bears. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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