Black Bear

Indian Black bear or Asiatic Black bear or Moon bear or Tibetan bear or Himalayan

Black bear is a medium sized bear existing in India and in other parts of Asia. It falls under the family Ursidae with the scientific name as Ursus thibetanus.

There are around 7 subspecies existing around the world. The Himalayan Black Bear has the below classification,

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Mammalia
Order	Carnivora
Family	Ursidae
Genus	Ursus
Species	U. thibetanus

Physical Structure

The Indian Black Bears are the medium sized bears with long black colored fur over its body. They are characterized with a white or cream colored V-shaped patch on its chest and whitish chin. They possess long and thick hair on the neck and shoulders.

Bears have a roundish head with big ears. Their forelimbs and claws are sharp such that they help them to climb trees but their hind limbs are weak. They are efficient climbers and live on trees most of the time. Unlike the American black bear they are are aggressive towards humans by killing and attacking them.

Indian Black Bears are also known for bipedal walking. They have a poor vision and the hearing sense is moderate. Like other animals, males are larger than females. These bears are 50-165 centimeter tall at the shoulders. The males weigh about 50-120 kgs whereas the female weighs 40-70 kgs. Their body length is about 1 to 1.5 meter and the tail is 6 to 11 cm long.

Asiatic black bear prefer living in mountainous forest, tropical forest,

temperate forest, dense forest, broad-leaved, coniferous areas and in the elevation of upto 10,000 feet. At times they can be seen in the cultivated areas. During the colder season they make their way to the lower elevation areas.

Their territory area is usually 0.5 square miles. They choose their place where there is abundant food supply.

The distribution of various subspecies are as given in the below table

Common name	Subspecies name	Distributed areas
Formosan Black Bear	Ursus thibetanus formosanus	Taiwan
Himalayan Black Bear	Ursus thibetanus laniger	Kashmir, Sikkim, Himalayas
Tibetan Black Bear	Ursus thibetanus thibetanus	Assam, Burma, Nepal, Thailand
Japanese Black Bear	Ursus thibetanus japonicus	Japan
Indochinese Black Bear	Ursus thibetanus mupinensis	Himalaya and Indo-China
Ussuri Black Bear	Ursus thibetanus ussuricus	Southern Siberia, northeastern China and Korean peninsula
Baluchistan Black Bear	Ursus thibetanus gedrosianus	Southern Baluchistan

Subspecies of Indian Black Bear:

The various subspecies of Indian Black Bear are as below:

Common name	Scientific name	Description	Pictures
Formosan Black Bear	Ursus thibetanus formosanus	It doesn't possess the thick fur at the neck unlike other sub species
Himalayan Black Bear	Ursus thibetanus laniger	It has longer and thick fur with white chest mark
Tibetan Black Bear	Ursus thibetanus thibetanus	It has short, thin fur in contrary with Himalayan Black bear
Japanese Black Bear	Ursus thibetanus japonicus	It is smaller than all the subspecies with thick neck fur and darker colored snout
Indochinese Black Bear	Ursus thibetanus mupinensis	Light colored
Ussuri Black Bear	Ursus thibetanus ussuricus	Largest of all the Asiatic black bear subspecies
Baluchistan Black Bear	Ursus thibetanus gedrosianus	Smaller one with short, coarse hair in reddish brown color

Himalayan black bear can be found in the below national parks:



Great Himalayan National Park:This is the newest national park located in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, India with an area of about 750 sq km. It is in between three towering peaks of Himalayas. The fauna here comprises of Snow leopard, Bharal, Goral, Black Bear, Leopard, Tiger, Khalij Cheer and Tragopan. The adventure here includes trekking and camping.

Nanda Devi National Park: This is the most spectacular national park in Himalayas. It is located in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, India with an area of about 630 sq km. The fauna here comprises of snow leopard, Himalayan Tahr, Bharal, Himalayan Black Bear, Brown Bear, Leopard, Langur, Himalayan Musk Deer, and Brown Beer. The adventure here includes trekking and Mountaineering.

Dachigam National Park: Dachigam National Park is located in Srinagar,

Jammu and Kashmir which covers an area of 141 square kilometers. The fauna here includes Hangul, Musk Deer, Leopard, and Himalayan Gray Langur, Leopard Cat, Himalayan Black Bear, Himalayan Brown Bear, Jackal and hill fox.

The other national parks where Asiatic black bear can be found are Kistwar National Park, Limber-Lachipora wildlife Sanctuary, Overa wildlife Sanctuary and Overa-Aru wildlife Sanctuary, Bandli wildlife Sanctuary, Rupi Bhaba wildlife Sanctuary, Sangla wildlife Sanctuary,

Sechu Tuan Nala wildlife Sanctuary, Shikari Devi wildlife Sanctuary, Talra wildlife Sanctuary, Tundah wildlife Sanctuary, Askot wildlife Sanctuary, Corbett National Park, Govind wildlife Sanctuary, Kedarnath wildlife Sanctuary, and Valley of Flowers National Park.

Food Habits

Indian black bears are omnivorous feeding on both animals and plants. They eat various varieties of food like fruits, buds, nuts, seeds, honey, herbs, cherries, acorns, dog wood, grain, raspberries, grasses, leaves, oak nuts, beechnuts, hydrangea, walnuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts, or stone pine seeds and other fat rich food. Sometimes they feed on crops that are in cultivated areas.

Their prey includes wild boar, muntjacs, water buffalos, and insects like termites, beetle eggs, birds, invertebrates, fish, rodents, carcasses and molluscs. At times they attack the live stock like sheep, goats and cattle.

Mating Behaviour

The mating season falls during the month of June and July. The male and female attain maturity at the age of 4 - 7 years. The bears are solitary except during the courtship. The gestation period lasts for about 180-240 days (6 - 8 months) with the delayed embryo implantation.They give birth to two or four cubs in the caves or hollow trees. The new born cub weighs about 368-370 grams and is blind during its birth. The young ones open their eyes on the third day of its birth and begin to walk on the fourth day. The female bear weans its child for 90-105 days and the cub stays with its mother until 2 years. The breeding happens between the interval period of 2 and 3 years. The lifespan ranges from 25 – 30 years.

The accurate population estimate is unknown, but the rough analysis has shown that around 7,000 -20,000 bears exists in various parts of India.

The report says that China has the highest population of Bear ranging from 15,000 – 46,000.

International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has classified Asiatic Black Bear as 'Vulnerable' species. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has taken steps to protect Bears from trade.

Name of state  & Protect areas	Population(per km2)
Jammu and Kashmir	1104
Himachal Pradesh	3057
Uttar Pradesh	5374
West Bengal	964
Sikkim	1707
Arunachal Pradesh	5304
Meghalaya	249
Mizoram	580
Tripura	1
Total	18340

Threats to Indian Black Bear

The preeminent threats that the black bear are facing is habitat loss and food loss, human-bear conflict, poaching and predators. Habitat loss may include the increase in human population and extension of bare grasslands to agricultural lands and human settlements.

Food loss may include the deforestation activities which finally lower their food content. They are been hunted for their paw, skin and gall bladders. Since these bears are very aggressive they are been killed by humans when they tend to attack humans. In addition they are killed when they attack the farmer's livestock.

The major reason for their extinction is overhunting of these species for the medicinal use. Sometimes bears are kept in cages and pipes are inserted into their gall bladder in order to remove the fluid from that area, which in turn is used in preparation of medicine.

Indian Wild Life Protection Act 2003 has taken steps to protect the bears by establishing protected areas in many of the parks which would prevent reduction in habitat loss, food loss, poaching and other threats.

Indian Black Bear in Indian Mythology

As per Hindu mythology, Black bear with the name 'Jambavantha' or 'Jambavan' has assisted Rama in finding out his wife 'Sita' which is stated in the epic called "Ramayana". In Japanese folklore, these species are closely associated with the mountain spirit and hence called as 'mountain man' or 'mountain uncle' or 'mountain father'.

Interesting Facts

The gall bladders or bile of Asiatic Black Bears has an excellent medicinal purpose and it has been a demand in the market.
Asian Black Bear possess very sharp, hooked claws which help them to eat and climb trees.
They are usually nocturnal, but diurnal depending on their habitat.