a rescued sloth bear

How to make peace with the world's deadliest bears

Sloth bears feed on ants and termites, but often attack people when startled. As human populations in India grow, violent conflict is rising.

A rescued sloth bear living at the Bannerghatta Bear Rescue Center in India. The animals look unassuming and even cute, but they startle easily and have large claws.

Photograph by Thomas Rowell

Pinky Baiga slowly pulls back the white scarf that covers her dark hair. Her eyes are cautious, and her anguish is palpable: There are deep gashes across her scalp, ragged pink lines extending from forehead to crown. Two months ago, Pinky was mauled by a sloth bear.

The teenager had been gathering firewood with her parents in a forest near Bandhavgarh National Park, in central India. When she turned a corner, wood balanced on her head, she came face to face with a sloth bear. The frightened animal attacked and nearly scalped her before running off. She received stitches to close her wounds and spent 10 days in the district hospital recovering.

As Pinky tells her story, dusk settles. Outside the

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