Ursus thibetanus japonicus is a subspecies of the white-breasted (Himalayan) bear living on the three main islands of Japan : Honshu , Shikoku and Kyushu . It is estimated that there are 10,000 white-bearded bears in Japan. The population of black bear bears in Shikoku and Kyushu is threatened with extinction or has become extinct. On the black market, bear organs and body parts are expensive, which threatens all bear populations in Japan. Small subspecies weighing from 60 to 120 kg for an adult male and 40-100 kg for an adult female. The average body length is 110-140 cm [1] . His neck is not as thick as that of other subspecies and has a dark colored muzzle [2] .
| Ursus thibetanus japonicus |
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| Scientific classification |
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| No rank : | Bilateral symmetric |
| Nadotryad : | Laurasiotherium |
| Subtype : | Ursus thibetanus japonicus |
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| International Scientific Name |
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Ursus thibetanus japonicus
Schlegel , 1857 |
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Content
In spring, these bears usually feed mainly on grasses and other green vegetation. In the summer, they switch to berries and nuts to gain weight before hibernating. They can pick berries and nuts, climbing trees and using claws to get food. Ursus thibetanus japonicus can eat other wildlife and livestock when necessary [3] . Like other bears, they are cannibals, for example, in the stomach of a single adult bear, bone fragments and claws of the young are found.
Ursus thibetanus japonicus are found on three Japanese islands: Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. They can be found in the northeastern alpine region with deep winter snow and the southwestern region with shallow snow, but they are found at an altitude of more than 3000 meters above sea level. As a rule, they live in places with an abundance of herbs, as well as trees and shrubs with berries [3] .
These bears are distributors of seeds of many forest plants. Bears eat fruits and secrete seeds with dung, while in 40% of cases they are at a distance of more than 500 m from the parent tree. They spread seeds in vast areas. In the fall, bears spread seeds faster, and usually males do it on a larger area than females [4] .
People have a huge impact on the population of Ursus thibetanus japonicus . These bears are threatened with habitat destruction, as villages continue to grow. Also poaching is a dangerous problem. Parts of the body and organs of bears can be sold on the black market at a high price, which makes them very desirable. People kill a lot of these bears, dramatically reducing their numbers. Because of this, and also because of habitat destruction, Ursus thibetanus japonicus is at high risk of extinction. It is likely that this species will disappear over the next 100 years if the reduction in numbers goes at a modern pace [5] .
- ↑ Servheen, C., Herrero, S., & Peyton, B. (1999). Bears: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan . IUCN, Gland.
- ↑ Baluchistan black bear Ursus thibetanus (G. Cuvier, 1823)
- ↑ 1 2 Hazumi, Toshihiro. Status of Japanese black bear // Bears: Their Biology and Management. - 1994. pp. 145–148. - DOI : 10.2307 / 3872694 .
- ↑ Koike, Shinsuke; Masaki, Takashi; Nemoto, Yui; Kozakai, Chinatsu; Yamazaki, Koji; Kasai, Shinsuke; Nakajima, Ami; Kaji, Koichi. Especially for the black shadow seed created dis Japanese - 2011. - Vol. 120 , no. 2 - P. 280-290 . - DOI : 10.1111 / j.1600-0706.2010.18626.x .
- ↑ Horino, S .; Miura, S. Population viability analysis of the Japanese black bear population (Eng.) // Population Ecology: journal. - 2000. - Vol. 42 , no. 1 . - P. 37-44 . - DOI : 10.1007 / s101440050007 .
