Unusual pet: a tame bear in an Indian family

This smiling fur cutie can be a serious threat to human life, but, nailed to people by a bear cub, he became a pet for a long time in one Indian family.

The small village of Lakhapada in northern India has replenished with an unusual inhabitant - following a herd of goats out of curiosity, a young sloth bear has wandered here. The clubfoot was adopted by the Kisan family, with whom the bear, nicknamed Baddu, lived for a whole year.

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1. Gubach, which is popularly called the sloth bear, is usually not very friendly by nature, is considered very aggressive and can attack a person and even kill him. But Baddu is different from his fellows, he is incredibly kind and close to people.

2. This bear is very different in appearance and way of life from real bears (Ursus), and it is isolated in a separate genus Melursus. It is easily recognizable by its long and mobile snout, and its lips are bare and can strongly protrude (hence the name), forming a kind of proboscis.

3. These bears are not dangerous to goats and other large animals, their food consists of insects, their larvae, snails, eggs, and various plants. For the love of honey, he received his scientific name - Melursus, "honey bear".

4. Despite their insectivorous and fruity diet, sloths are considered very aggressive and can even kill a person if they get too close.

5. Once upon a time in India, sloths were widely exterminated, considering them dangerous pests. At the same time, they could often be seen on the streets of cities in troupes of amateur circus performers, they easily learned various funny tricks.

6. Their total number in 1975 did not exceed 10,000 individuals, so now this species is taken under protection.

7. Together with this family, the bear lived for almost a year, became completely tame and behaved like a faithful dog, even carried out commands.

8. But when the bear grew up, officials from the Indian Wildlife Service took the bear and took it with them.