The Only Bear That Carries Its Young
Of all the world's eight bear species, only the sloth bear, Melursus ursinus, routinely carries cubs on her back, and she does it not for a few minutes but for months at a stretch. Cubs begin riding at around four to six weeks of age and may continue until they are nearly nine months old, gripping the mother's long, coarse fur with claws built for exactly this purpose. No polar bear, no grizzly, no sun bear does this habitually. The sloth bear mother is, in this one specific way, in a category of her own.
