Kelce, Harper Chosen As Names For Sloth Bear Cubs At Philadelphia Zoo

PHILADELPHIA — After a public voting campaign, the new sloth bear cubs at the Philadelphia Zoo have names.

Born on January 2 to 10-year-old mom Kayla and 10-year-old dad Bhalu, the public chose to dub the cubs Kelce and Harper.

And yes, those names are references to Philadelphia sports legends Jason Kelce, center for the Philadelphia Eagles, and Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies.

"Thank you to the thousands of fans who helped us choose names for our un-bear-ably cute sloth bear cubs," the zoo said on social media. "These two will be out exploring their habitat typically in the afternoons."

Harper and Kelce's birth is the second successful birth of this species at the zoo in the last four years, and marks the first successful pair of cubs of this species born in more than 30 years at the zoo.

Sloth bears are found in the lowland forests of India, Nepal and Sri Lanka and are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature with populations decreasing dramatically in recent decades due to habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict and poaching.

Sloth bears have several distinctive features and behaviors.

They have flexible snouts with protruding upper and lower lips and powerful lungs that allow them to dislodge and eat termites and ants that are 8 to 10 feet underground.

They can voluntarily close their nostrils to make sure no insects enter their nose. Aside from insects, sloth bears eat fruits, flowers and honey.

They also have long, dark shaggy fur with a distinct, cream-colored "U" or "Y" shaped marking on their chests. Adult males can weigh between 175 and 310 pounds.

Females are smaller and weigh 120 to 210 pounds.

A typical gestation for sloth bears is 6 to 7 months.

Like other bear species, sloth bears have delayed implantation, meaning that the fertilized egg does not attach to the uterine wall and start developing right away, and that delay is variable.

Sloth bears are small at birth, weighing only about a pound, and are essentially helpless, relying completely on their mother for care.

Moms will typically care for young for several months in a sheltered den before the cubs begin to emerge.

Cubs can begin walking on their own at about a month old.

At around 3 to 4 months, moms and cubs emerge from their den, and unlike any other bear species, cubs will ride on mom's back by clinging to her long fur.

Cubs will stay on mom's back for about 6 months and nurse from mom for about a year, and remain with her for 2 to 3 years.

Father bears are not at all involved with infant care, or are even nearby in the wild.