Human-bear coexistence would be prioritized in future conservation policies, as Formosan black bears are proliferating and forming a breeding population in low-altitude areas, Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said yesterday.
Formosan black bear populations are increasing in medium-to-high-altitude and low-altitude areas, and the agency documented 2,034 Formosan black bear sightings nationwide since 2011, Lin told a news conference.
From 2011 to 2017, automatic wildlife cameras recorded a total of 219 Formosan black bears in areas at an altitude 1,200m or higher and 78 sightings in areas at an altitude lower than 1,200m, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency
The number climbed to 1,224 and 513 sightings respectively since 2018, Lin said.
Sightings by the public also rose from 82 to 138 and from 67 to 113 respectively over the two time intervals, he said.
Of the 60 sightings of mother bears with cubs documented nationwide since 2018, 23 sightings, or 38 percent, occurred in areas at an altitude lower than 1,200m, Lin said.
That indicates population growth and the formation of a breeding population by Formosan black bears in low-lying areas, he added.
Formosan black bear populations are growing and expanding mainly because of effective forest habitat restoration, and the reduction of illegal hunting and traps.
The coverage area of national forest increased by 22,000 hectares to nearly 1.43 million hectares over the past decade, Lin said.
Data from the national forest wildlife monitoring network showed an abundance of medium or large animals, including Formosan black bears, has been increasing overall since 2015, he said.
Residents of mountainous areas used to refrain from reporting unintended capture of Formosan black bears, as they were afraid of being held legally responsible or drawn into disputes with people who set the trap, Lin said.
Reports of accidentally captured black bears have increased since the agency began to strengthen the publicity of blameless reporting three years ago, he said.
Fourteen of the 19 trapped bears were saved, and 10 were released back to the mountains over the past three years, Lin said.
To reduce unintended bear deaths from hunting, the agency also promoted the use of smaller caliber hunting rifles and offered payments for ecosystem services for reporting trapped bears, he added.
As Formosan black bears are expanding into low-lying areas, including the foot of Jhuosi Mountain (卓溪山) and Provincial Highway No. 9, future conservation policies would focus on facilitating harmonious coexistence between humans and bears, particularly food waste management and blocking facility enhancement, Lin said.
National Pingtung University of Science and Technology wildlife conservation professor Weng Guo-jing (翁國精) said the spike in human-bear conflicts in Hualien County this year is predictable.
Formosan Wild Sound Conservation Science Center founder Chiang Po-jen (姜博仁) said that Formosan black bears are opportunistic foragers that gravitate toward wherever there is food.
Bears would become less active in winter if they have eaten enough in autumn, but those that did not get sufficient food in autumn would continue to search for food and could cause more human-bear conflicts, he said, adding that hike trail visitors are advised to bring bear spray with them.
Tunghai University life science professor Lin Liang-kong (林良恭) said that food management in the mountains is crucial given that bears searching for food can travel 20km to 30km.
To prevent human-bear conflicts, human communities could be established as “exclusion zones” that prohibit bears from entering, while “buffer zones” and “core zones” around bear habitats could be delineated to protect bears from human interference, he said, citing Japan’s example.
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