Asiatic Black Bear
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Ursidae Genus: Ursus Species: U. The conservation status of a Species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future A vulnerable species is a Species which is likely to become endangered unless the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List) created in 1963 is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands The diverse order Carnivora (kɑrˈnɪvərə or sometimes /ˌkɑrnɪˈvɔərə/ from Latin carō (stem carn-) "flesh" + vorāre Ursus is a Genus in the family Ursidae ( Bears that includes the widely distributed Brown bears the Polar bear, and thibetanus
Binomial name
Ursus thibetanus (G. Cuvier, 1823)
Thibetanus bear range
Synonyms
Selenarctos thibetanus

The Asiatic Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus or Selenarctos thibetanus), also known as the Tibetan black bear, the Himalayan black bear, or the moon bear, is a medium sized, sharp-clawed, black-colored bear with a distinctive white or cream "V" marking on its chest. Baron Georges Léopold Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert Cuvier ( August 23 1769 &ndash May 13, 1832) was a French naturalist Year 1823 ( MDCCCXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common In Scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different Scientific names used for a single Taxon. It is a close relative of the American black bear with which it is thought to share a European common ancestor. The American Black Bear ( Ursus americanus) is the most common Bear Species native to North America. ^[2]

Size

The Asiatic black bear grows to approximately 130 to 190 cm (4¼ to 6¼ ft) in length. Males weigh between 100 and 218 kg (240 to 480 lb) and females weigh between 50 to 125 kg (110 to 275 lb). ^[3] The tail is 4. 4 inches long. ^[4] The bear's life span is around 25 years.

Range and habitat

The Asiatic Black Bear has a wide distribution range spanning from the east to west of the Asian continent. This bear can be found in the forests of hilly and mountainous areas in East Asia and South Asia, including South Korea, North Korea, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh northern India, Nepal, Sikkim (Indian state), Bhutan, Burma, southern Siberia in Russia, northeastern China, Taiwan and Japan. South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia, Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and ( Bengali: বাংলাদেশ inc-Latn Bangladesh) officially India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Nepal (नेपाल) is a Landlocked country in South Asia. Sikkim ( Nepali:, also Sikhim) is a Landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayas It is the least populous state in India The Kingdom of Bhutan (buːˈtɑːn is a Landlocked nation in South Asia. Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. Siberia (Сиби́рь Sibir) is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. It can be found in areas with elevations as high as 4,700 m (13,776 feet), but in lower lands as well. In some parts of its range, the Asiatic black bear shares its habitat with the larger and stronger brown bear (Ursus arctos). The Brown Bear ( Ursus arctos) is an Omnivorous Mammal of the family Ursidae, distributed across much of northern Eurasia and However, the smaller black bear has an advantage over its competitor: its climbing skills which help it reach for fruit and nuts in the trees. Asiatic Black Bears share Giant Panda habitat in China's Wolong Reserve, where they feed occasionally, among other things, on bamboo, which is their more specialized relatives' favorite food. The Giant Panda ( Ailuropoda melanoleuca, "black-and-white cat-foot" is a Mammal classified in the Bear family ( Ursidae) native to The Asiatic Black Bear type that is found in Taiwan is the Formosan Black Bear subspecies. The Formosan Black Bear ( Ursus thibetanus formosanus, or Selenarctos thibetanus formosanus) also known as the white-throated bear, is a Subspecies In Zoology, as in other branches of Biology, subspecies is the Taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a Species.

Diet

The Asiatic Black Bear is an omnivore which consumes a great variety of foods and are opportunistic and seasonal in diet. Omnivores (from Latin omne all everything vorare to devour are species that eat both Plants and Animals as their primary In fall, they fatten themselves on acorns, chestnuts, walnuts, and other fat-rich resources. The acorn is the nut of the Oak tree (genera Quercus, Lithocarpus and Cyclobalanopsis, in the Chestnut ( Castanea) (including some chinkapin or Chinquapin) is a Genus of eight or nine Species of Deciduous Walnuts (genus Juglans) are Plants in the family Juglandaceae. They climb trees to get these foods, as well as picking them from the forest floor. In spring, new plant growth provides a bounty for the bears, which seek out bamboo, raspberry, hydrangea, and other plants. Bamboo is a group of Woody perennial Evergreen Plants in the True grass family Poaceae, subfamily The raspberry (plural raspberries) is the edible Fruit of a multitude of plant species in the subgenus Idaeobatus of the genus Rubus Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They also raid rodents' caches of acorns or collect those left on the forest floor from the previous fall, and may eat the rodents also on the rare occasion of catching them. Rodentia is an order of Mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously-growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must The acorn is the nut of the Oak tree (genera Quercus, Lithocarpus and Cyclobalanopsis, in the Other plants offer food in summer, including raspberries, cherries, and grasses. This article is about the Cherry berry also classified as fruit for the ornamental tree See Cherry Blossom. Grass is the common word that generally describes Monocotyledonous green Plants The family Gramineae ( Poaceae) are the "true grasses" and include Insect food, especially ants, augments the summer diet. Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described Ants are social Insects of the family Formicidae and along with the related families of Wasps and Bees belong to the order Asiatic black bears will eat carrion, and sometimes attack livestock. Carrion (from the Latin caro, meaning meat refers to the carcass of a dead animal Livestock is the term used to refer (singularly or plurally to a Domesticated Animal intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to produce such as Food Vertebrates, mostly small, are taken when available, including fish, birds, rodents and other mammals. Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. Rodentia is an order of Mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously-growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands ^[5] The Asiatic Black Bear is thought to be somewhat more carnivorous than its American cousin. Nevertheless, meat only makes up a small part of its diet.

Behavior

The bear has been known to be quite aggressive towards human beings (more so than the American black bear); there have been numerous records of bear attacks and killings. This is probably mainly because the Asiatic Black Bear is more likely to come into contact with people, and will often attack if startled. Due to their size and disposition, adult bears have few natural enemies, although they may compromise up to 7% of the prey taken by Siberian Tigers where the two are sympatric. The Siberian tiger ( Panthera tigris altaica) also known as the Amur tiger, Manchurian tiger, or Ussuri tiger, is a rare Subspecies ^[6]

Status

The Asiatic Black Bear pictured here in the Gangtok Zoo. Gangtok ( Nepali and Hindi: गंगटोक is the capital and largest town of the Indian state of Sikkim.

The Asiatic Black Bear is listed as vulnerable on the World Conservation Union's (IUCN's) Red List of Threatened Animals. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List) created in 1963 is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global It is threatened mainly by deforestation and habitat loss. Deforestation is the conversion of Forested areas to non-forest land for use such as Arable land, Pasture, urban use logged area or wasteland The bears are also killed by farmers due to the threat they pose to livestock, and they are also unpopular for their habit of stripping bark from valuable timber trees.

Asiatic Black Bears are also threatened by hunting, especially for their gall bladders to obtain bile, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine. A bile bear or battery bear is the term used for Asiatic black bears kept in captivity in Vietnam and China so that Bile may be extracted from them for sale as a Traditional Chinese medicine (also known as TCM,) includes a range of traditional medical practices originating in China. Since China outlawed the poaching of native bears in the 1980s, bear bile has been supplied to Chinese consumers by special farms, where the bears are kept constantly caged and restrained while catheters inserted in their gall bladders allow bile to drip into a container and be collected. A bile bear or battery bear is the term used for Asiatic black bears kept in captivity in Vietnam and China so that Bile may be extracted from them for sale as a Supporters of this practice contend that, without these farms, the demand for bear bile would create a tremendous incentive for poaching and put the already endangered species at even greater risk. Critics, however, assert that the practice is patently cruel and inhumane, and that synthetic bear bile, ursodeoxycholic acid, is just as medicinally effective as real bear bile, and in fact much cheaper. Ursodiol, also known as ursodeoxycholic acid and the Abbreviation UDCA, is one of the secondary Bile acids which are metabolic byproducts

Subspecies

• Formosan Black Bear, Ursus thibetanus formosanus Swinhoe, 1864, or Selenarctos thibetanus formosanus - in Taiwan
• Baluchistan bear, Ursus thibetanus gedrosianus Blanford, 1877, or Selenarctos thibetanus gedrosianus - in Iran and Pakistan
• Ursus thibetanus japonicus Schlegel, 1857, or Selenarctos thibetanus japonica - in Japan
• Ursus thibetanus laniger (Pocock, 1932), or Selenarctos thibetanus laniger - in Afghanistan and southeast Iran and southern China
• Ursus thibetanus mupinensis (Heude, 1901), or Selenarctos thibetanus mupinensis - in southwestern China
• Ursus thibetanus thibetanus Cuvier, 1823, or Selenarctos thibetanus thibetanus - in Himalaya and Indochina
• Ursus thibetanus ussuricus (Heude, 1901), or Selenarctos thibetanus ussuricus - in Southern Siberia, northeastern China and Korean peninsula

See also

• Bile bear

References

External links

• Hunter becomes hunted: Poacher mauled by endangered bear
• ARKive - images and movies of the Asiatic black bear