A group of bears is called a sloth. This term was first used in 1492, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The original phrase used was "A Slouthe of Beerys". The word sloth derives from the Middle English term for slow, but it is a wonder as to why early writers would think that a group of bears moved slowly.

A group of bears is called a sloth, a term first used in 1452, according

to The Oxford English Dictionary. The actual phrase was "A Slouthe of

Beerys" The word sloth derives from the Middle English term for slow, but

it is a mystery as to why early writers thought that a group of bears moved slowly. It is also interesting to speculate about where groups of bears might have been seen. Maybe it was at some long-since-vanished site in Europe where bears congregated at a salmon stream to fish.

Currently, one would be most likely to come across a sloth of polar bears

on the coast of western Hudson Bay. Towards the end of summer, when the

sea ice has melted, groups of males gather together on islands and points

of land. When the sea freezes over again, they disperse to hunt

seals. Sloths of grizzly bears can most easily be seen at salmon spawning

streams, such as McNeil River, Pack Creek, and Brooks River in Alaska...