One of the 12 mega biodiversity centres of the world, India is home to four of eight species of bears - Himalayan brown bear, Asiatic black bear, Sloth bear and the Sun bear. Bears in India are threatened due to poaching for bear parts, retaliatory killings to reduce conflicts and habitat loss due to degradation and fragmentation. In addition to these concerns, the rehabilitation of communities that eke out a living on dancing bears has made bear conservation a challenge in India. Much of the bear range nations of south and south-east Asia face similar problems.