The Sloth Bear Foundation is launched to protect and preserve the endangered sloth bears and their habitats from destruction. The foundation has a tie up with the Karnataka forest department and has its head office at Bellary in Karnataka, India. Bellary and its surrounding districts (Raichur, Koppal, Davanagere, etc.) is home to a large number of sloth bears which are under enormous pressure due to the loss of habitat and fragmentation.

The rocky region of Bellary known for its neolithic culture, dotting around 66 centres according to Bruce Foote, has the heritage landscape which covers the UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre of Hampi, the home of rich Indian heritage (The ruins of Vijayanagar Empire); the sandal wood and the medicinalplants forest of Sandur, which is famous for its scenic grandeur, praised as one of the most beautiful scenes by Mahatma Gandhi; the archeologically famous Sangankal Neolithic site dating back to 10,000 BC and craggy mountains through which the Tungabhadra meanders.

The Sloth Bear Sanctuary on the Bilikallu reserve forest near Daroji village has been a realization of the dream project of all wildlife lovers and committed environmentalists. The Kishkinda mountains which is home to sloth bears has been legendarily associated with the epic Ramayana and the mythology proclaims the region as the kingdom ruled by Vali and Sugreeva with the help of Anjaneya, all associated with monkey hordes. The Kishkinda is even now crowded with Hanuman Langurs or the black faced Langurs. The Ramayana epic also associates the region with the immortal Jambavatha – The great sloth bear warrior, who appears both in the Ramayana helping Rama and in the Mahabharatha with Lord Krishna. Now these sloth bears are found not only near Kishkinda area but also in the area extending right upto the historic Chitradurga in Karnataka.

For years, the sloth bear population of Bellary and surrounding districts, foraging for food, came into conflict with the farmers, especially the sugarcane farmers and the forest department had to take pains to prevent such a confrontation between man and the beasts as well as pay compensation to the victims of such conflict.

The fast depleting forest cover, the rumbling of big trucks, the lights and noise of the industries running round the clock have driven the wildlife out of their habitats. The poor creatures are the victims of man’s aggression and so called developmental activities.