Five‐year study on the autumn food habits of the Asiatic black bear in relation to nut production

Abstract

We studied the autumn food habits of the Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) from 1993 to 1997, based on 202 fecal samples in the Chichibu Mountains, central Japan. Nuts occupied the highest proportions of autumn foods (59.9–85.8% important values). Although the proportion of nuts of Quercus crispula, Fagus crenata and Fagus japonica varied greatly between the years, acorns of Q. crispula were most prevalent in four of the five years. We also determined the relative nut production of these three species by counting the number of nuts or cupules on the ground. Black bears consumed the nuts according to their relative availabilities. Nuts of Q. crispula appeared to be the most important food because: (i) these nuts were eaten in the highest proportion in four of the five study years; and (ii) even in poor years the bears consumed acorns of Q. crispula, whereas nuts of Fagus spp. were not consumed. We discuss the significance of alternative foods for black bears in relation to food tree diversity in the forest and the necessity for long‐term studies examining the food habits of Asiatic black bears.

Spatial distribution as a measure of conservation needs: an example with Asiatic black bears in south‐western China

“…Natural forest conservation and reforestation programmes are likely to have a favourable impact on black bears; however, we found no evidence of range extension for bear populations in the 10 years since the implementation of these programmes and declining bear populations occurred in many areas with good habitat. We suggest two explanations for what appears to be a lack of response of black bears to these conservation initiatives: (1) nut-bearing trees (principally oaks), which are vital for these bears (Reid et al, 1991;Hashimoto et al, 2003), either were not planted (most of the planted trees were coniferous species and Eucalyptus; Ren et al, 2007) or have not reached maturity in the short time since these reforestation programmes were implemented; and (2) poaching continues to threaten bear populations. Poaching for the trade of wildlife parts has caused dramatic declines for many large mammal species, such as tigers (Pantbera tigris; Kenney et al, 1995), rhinos (e.g.…”

Predation on Moose Calves by European Brown Bears

“…This is also true for bear populations, but see Hashimoto et al (2003) for Asiatic black bears Ursus thibetanus.…”

Relationships Between the Fruiting Phenology of Prunus jamasakura and Timing of Visits by Mammals - Estimation of the Feeding Period Using Camera Traps

“…There are no reports on the feeding behavior of bears that indicating bears select trees depending on the food availability of each tree. However, it is known bears can change their diet and movement behavior frequently depending on fruit production (Hashimoto, 2002;Hashimoto et al, 2003;Koike, 2010;Kozakai et al, 2011;Arimoto et al, in press). Thus bears may select trees based on the difference in fruit production for each individual tree.…”