what animal is baloo in the jungle book

Baloo is a sloth bear, according to both the original book by Rudyard Kipling and the 1967 Disney animated feature film. However, the true identity of Kiplings "sleepy brown bear" is a bit of an enigma, as his physical description in the book would suggest a sloth bear, but his diet of nuts and honey runs counter to that species insect-eating preferences. In the 2016 Disney remake of its 1967 rendition of The Jungle Book, Baloo is also officially canonically a sloth bear, as Bagheera explicitly states this in the film.