Asiatic Black Bear
Asiatic Black Bears (Ursus thibetanus or Selenarctos thibetanus) are sometimes also known as Tibetan black bears, Himalayan black bears, or moon bears. They are most easily recognized by their distinctive white marking on their chest, almost in the shape of the letter "V".
The Asiatic Black Bear is medium in size, and usually grow to approximately 4¼ to 6¼ ft in length. Males usually weigh between 225-350lbs, and females usually weigh 140-200lbs. Asiatic Black Bears have an average lifespan of 25 years. They also have very sharp claws, and a tail that is 4-5 inches long. They are closely related to the American Black Bear and it is thought that they share a common European ancestor.
Asiatic Black Bears live in a wide range of areas from the east to west of the Asian continent. The bears can be found living in the mountainous forests of East and South Asia in the countries of South Korea, North Korea, Afghanistan, Pakistan, parts of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, southern Siberia in Russia, northeastern China, Taiwan and Japan. The bears can be seen in lowland areas as well as locations more than 13,000 feet above sea level. In some parts of its habitat, the Asiatic Black Bear shares the range with larger and stronger brown bears (Ursus arctos). Although the brown bear is bigger and stronger, the Asiatic Black Bear has better climbing skills and this allows it to reach fruit and nuts in trees that the brown bear cannot reach. In China's Wolong Reserve, Asiatic Black Bears share habitat with the Giant Panda.
At Wolong Reserve, the black bears sometimes feed on bamboo, but The Asiatic Black Bear is an omnivore that eats a wide variety of foods in its diet including fruits, nuts, berries, seeds, grass, insects, honey and meat such as fish, rodents, birds, and other small animals. The Asiatic Black Bear may be slightly more carnivorous than the American Black Bear, but meat still makes up only a small part of the Asiatic Black Bear diet.
Asiatic Black Bears are known to be aggressive towards humans. There are numerous accounts of bear attacks, which may be due in large part to the fact that the Asiatic Black Bear is more likely to encounter humans in its habitat, and the bear will attack if startled.
As of 2007, the Asiatic Black Bear is listed as vulnerable on the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Animals. The bears are primarily threatened by deforestation and loss of natural habitat. The bears are also foten killed by farmers because of the threat to livestock and stripping the bark from valuable timber.
Hunting is also a threat to the Asiatic Black Bear. They are especially valuable for their gall bladders, which contain bile that is used in traditional Chinese medicine practice. In the 1980's, China made it illegal to poach bears, and bear bile has been supplied since then by specialized farms. The bears on these farms are kept in cages and have catheters inserted into their gall bladders so that the bile can drip into a container to be collected and sold. Some people say that without these farms, there would be widespread poaching that would threaten the species in the wild. However, many people say that keeping the bears caged up at the farms is a cruel practice, especially considering that a synthetic bear bile (ursodeoxycholic acid) can be just as effective and much more inexpensive.
In Taiwan, the Asiatic Black Bear type is a subspecies known as the Formosan Black Bear.