Where to see the Sloth Bear
Melursus ursinus · mammal · Ursidae
Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus) is recorded in 22 protected areas and wildlife sites across 3 countries in our database. The places with the strongest evidence are Chitwan National Park (Nepal), Nagarhole National Park (India) and Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary (India).
Where is the best place to see the Sloth Bear?
Based on GBIF records and our guides, the best-documented places to see the Sloth Bear are Chitwan National Park (Nepal), Nagarhole National Park (India) and Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary (India). Most sites are in India (12), Sri Lanka (6) and Nepal (4). It appears in 7 trip reports in our library.
Top 22 places for the Sloth Bear
| # | Place | Country | GBIF records | Years | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chitwan National Park | Nepal | 66 | 1996–2025 | Recorded on GBIF |
| 2 | Nagarhole National Park | India | – | – | Reported by our guide |
| 3 | Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary | India | – | – | Reported by our guide |
| 4 | Bandhavgarh National Park | India | – | – | Reported by our guide |
| 5 | Pench Tiger Reserve | India | – | – | Reported by our guide |
| 6 | Satpura National Park | India | – | – | Reported by our guide |
| 7 | Panna National Park | India | – | – | Reported by our guide |
| 8 | Ranthambore National Park | India | – | – | Reported by our guide |
| 9 | Yala Strict Natural Reserve | Sri Lanka | – | – | Reported by our guide |
| 10 | Wilpattu National Park | Sri Lanka | – | – | Reported by our guide |
| 11 | Gal Oya National Park | Sri Lanka | – | – | Reported by our guide |
| 12 | Wasgamuwa National Park | Sri Lanka | – | – | Reported by our guide |
| 13 | Pench National Park | India | – | – | Reported by our guide |
| 14 | Anaimalai Tiger Reserve | India | 29 | 2005–2026 | Recorded on GBIF |
| 15 | Parsa National Park | Nepal | 14 | – | Recorded on GBIF |
| 16 | Parambikulam Tiger Reserve | India | 13 | 2000–2017 | Recorded on GBIF |
| 17 | Shukla Phanta National Park | Nepal | 9 | – | Recorded on GBIF |
| 18 | Bardiya National Park | Nepal | 8 | – | Recorded on GBIF |
| 19 | Yala Strict Nature Reserve | Sri Lanka | 6 | 1994–2024 | Recorded on GBIF |
| 20 | Yala National Park | Sri Lanka | 6 | 1994–2024 | Recorded on GBIF |
| 21 | Kanha National Park | India | 5 | 2008–2014 | Recorded on GBIF |
| 22 | Parambikulam Tiger Reserve ESZ (Proposed) | India | 3 | 2016–2018 | Recorded on GBIF |
By country
India: 12, Sri Lanka: 6 and Nepal: 4.
Seen on trips
The Sloth Bear is recorded in these trip reports:
- Sri Lanka Mammal Watching Trip Report, April 2025: Royle Safaris — Royle Safaris
- Nepal Birding Trip Report, April 2019: Wise Birding Holidays — Wise Birding Holidays
- South India Mammal Watching Trip Report, April-May 2017: Royle Safaris — Royle Safaris
- Tadoba Tiger Mammal Watching Trip Report, June 2015: Royle Safaris — Royle Safaris
- Kanha, Kaziranga and Chitwan Mammal Watching Trip Report, January 2014: Royle Safaris — Royle Safaris
- Satpura, Bandhavgarh and Panna Mammal Watching Trip Report, January 2013: Royle Safaris — Royle Safaris
- Western Ghats and Mumbai Mammal Watching Trip Report 2011 — Jon Hall (mammalwatching.com)
Tours that have recorded it
- Sri Lanka Wildlife Exploration Tour — Royle Safaris
- Birding the Land of the Thunder Dragon (Bhutan) — Wise Birding Holidays
- Western Ghats Rare & Endemic Wildlife Tour — Royle Safaris
- Tadoba Tiger Safari — Royle Safaris
- Kanha, Kaziranga & Chitwan Safari — Royle Safaris
In our guides
Read the full species account in our Sri Lanka guide, India guide, Nepal guide.
Take it with you
Build a free printable field guide or e-book for any of these places, with photos and a checklist.
Make a field guide for Chitwan National ParkPhoto: kalyanvarma, CC-BY.
GBIF downloads: Nepal, India, Sri Lanka.
Data last updated 2026-11-05. Species–place links come from GBIF occurrence downloads (GBIF.org) matched to protected-area boundaries from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL) and other open boundary sources, plus places listed by our own guides. Record counts are what has been reported to GBIF, not population sizes. Reptiles and amphibians are never shown at park level. How this database works · Data sources and limits.