Environment News

Bear Population Study - WII

October 24 , 2026 15 hrs 0 min 14 0

Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, is preparing India’s first national-level study to estimate the population, distribution and geographical range of all four bear species found in India.
The four species are Himalayan brown bear, Asiatic black bear, sloth bear and sun bear, which belong to the mammalian family Ursidae.
The Himalayan brown bear is a subspecies of the brown bear (Ursus arctos), which is Least Concern (LC) globally, while the other three are Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List.
The scientific names are Ursus arctos (brown bear), Ursus thibetanus (Asiatic black bear), Melursus ursinus (sloth bear) and Helarctos malayanus (sun bear).
The study will help identify critical habitats, human-bear conflict zones and areas needing better monitoring and habitat management; the older estimate of about 20,000 sloth bears refers to the Indian subcontinent.