Insemination program breeds endangered bear

The Council of Agriculture (COA) announced yesterday the first successful artificial insemination of the endangered Formosan bear, as a Formosan bear born as a result of the program turned 45 days old.

COA Chairman Chen Hsi-huang (陳希煌) said the bear was born Nov. 4 last year and that it can already move around on its own.

He added that the COA filmed the bear's birth for reference and that it will publicly pick a name for the young bear when it is a little older.

According to the COA chairman, the Taiwan Endangered Species Research Institute (TESRI) under the COA, which began the program, started studying artificial insemination of the endangered animal in 1999. Chen expressed hope that the program's first success will attract more conservationists to breed the Formosan bears.

Research institute director Yen Jen-teh (顏仁德) said the bear was born to a sow that was sent to TESRI in 1994 after being hurt in a poaching incident, while the sperm was supplied by a boar borrowed from the Shoushan Zoo in southern Kaohsiung County in Aug. 1999.

Formosan bears usually inhabit areas between 1,000m and 3,000m above sea level. They are omnivorous, living mainly on fruit.