IWN Report — Saturday, 10 October 2026

The organisation that worked to end India’s centuries-old dancing bear practice is rallying experts to find ways to protect sloth bears from habitat loss.

Wildlife SOS, a wildlife conservation and welfare organisation that provides veterinary care and works to reduce human-wildlife conflict, is teaming up with the Wildlife and Conservation Biology (WCB) Research Foundation to organise a symposium on the topic on 12 October, World Sloth Bear Day, in Mount Abu, Rajasthan. Researchers, forest officials, students and non-governmental organisations are on the invitation list, and the one-day programme has scientific talks, conservation case studies and panel discussions.

“Sloth bears face serious threats from habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict, and protecting them requires a coordinated approach,” Nikki Sharp, executive director of Wildlife SOS USA, said in a statement.

The sloth bear is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and nobody has a firm count of how many remain. The Rufford Foundation cites an estimate of fewer than 20,000 worldwide, while International Animal Rescue puts the wild population in India at 6,000 to 11,000.

Conflict with people adds to the pressure from shrinking habitat. Rufford points to a PLOS Biology analysis finding that sloth bears were involved in more negative encounters with people in the region between 1950 and 2019 than any other large carnivore.

Wildlife SOS, established in 1995, says its rescue work helped end the dancing bear practice and supported alternative livelihoods for the communities that depended on it. It also says it declared 12 October World Sloth Bear Day in 2022 in collaboration with the IUCN, and Deccan Herald reported at the time that the IUCN’s Sloth Bear Expert Team had accepted its proposal for the date.

Sources: Wildlife SOS · Rufford Foundation · International Animal Rescue · Deccan Herald