The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear.
Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said.
Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said.
Photo courtesy OF the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency
The bear was chewing on another honeycomb stolen from the hives and turned to look at him, it said, adding that they quietly gazed at each other for nearly 40 minutes until the bear turned around to eat more honey and then fell asleep.
Chih reported the incident to the agency’s Hualien branch shortly afterward, the agency said, adding that his cool composure was the key to avoiding a conflict in this case.
The agency has compensated Chih for the damage to his hives, and paid him a bonus under the Payments for Ecosystem Services scheme, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency
Chih agreed to take bear safety measures to prevent potential conflicts with the animals, it said.
In appreciation of Chih’s deft handling of the situation, the agency also assisted him in designing a gift box to memorialize the encounter, with an illustration of the thieving bear on the box, it said.
The gift box features honey “approved of” by the bear, containing a longan honey jar and a wildflower honey jar, the agency said, adding that it would be sold by Blossomie Honey (慕春蜂蜜).
Separately, the Tsou Hunters Association last week said a trail camera captured footage of a Formosan black bear tapping on the infrared device in October.
The camera was about 500m from the Tefuye Historic Trail (特富野古道) in Chiayi County’s Alishan Township (阿里山).
The association called on visitors to the trail to be aware of bear activities. To reduce the likelihood of encountering bears, people are advised to bring a bell or other noise-making equipment with them during trips to mountains with bear sighting records, it said.
They should bring bear repellent spray and keep it within reach in case of a bear emergency, it said.
People must not play dead, climb trees or take any provocative action if they encounter a bear, but must instead remain calm, face the bear and slowly back away, it said.
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