Baloo is a sloth bear.
Baloo is officially canonically a sloth bear in the 2016 Disney remake of its 1967 rendition of the Jungle Book, as Bagheera explicitly states that Baloo is a sloth bear.
Baloo. The true identity of Kipling's “sleepy brown bear” is a bit of an enigma: Baloo's 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.
Baloo's name, which simply means “bear” in Hindustani, lends no additional clues.
Baloo is a main fictional character featured in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book from 1894 and The Second Jungle Book from 1895.
Baloo, a sloth bear, is the strict teacher of the cubs of the Seeonee wolf pack.
His most challenging pupil is the "man-cub" Mowgli.