The Forest Service said today that the Dongmaoshan black bear experienced two wild releases. On April 12, it moved northwards and then lost its signal on May 6. On the 9th, it was near the final reception point and left Wujie, Renai Township, Nantou. It was found buried within 100 meters of the industrial road, with obvious wounds on the head and chest. The Forestry Bureau of the Agriculture Committee released the above news today.
The Forest Service also said that the black bear’s body was buried. After excavation and removal on May 10, it was found that although the body was intact, the transmitter collar that was originally worn for it was not found. A preliminary inspection of the appearance revealed obvious signs on the head and chest. For trauma, the Forestry Bureau has sent the black bear carcass to the Animal Health Experiment Institute of the Agricultural Committee for autopsy to determine the cause of death. Jiawei said that the body has not yet arrived.
Regarding the loss of information about the black bear and the actual search, the Forest Service said that the last satellite signal was received at 5:00 a.m. on May 6, and no signal has been returned since then. The Dongshi Forest Management Office of the Forest Service immediately searched. On the 6th, they searched the site for collars and VHF radio signals without success. On the 7th, they urgently transported three more directional and more sensitive VHF antennas to the scene to expand the search.
The carpet search range is from the north to the ridgeline of Wujie Mountain, to the south to 6 kilometers from Zhuoshe Lindao, and to the east to the Wujie tribe. On the morning of the 8th, it cut into the forest, and was blocked by the steep terrain. It was not until the 9th that a suspicious burial site was found during the search process.
The Forestry Bureau stated that the Dongmaoshan black bear had been rescued for the second time last year. The Forestry Bureau held several expert meetings to assess whether the individual’s health status met the standards for wild release, and also considered the possibility of nuisance incidents in the original activity area. After research, the important habitat of Danda wild animals in Xinyi Township, Nantou County was selected for wild release.
The wild release site is a primitive broad-leaved forest at an altitude of 1380 meters. The forest is complete, food is abundant, and it is close to water sources. It is far away from settlements and agricultural land, and there are several natural barriers. The Forest Service said that in order to prevent black bears from entering the tribe again, the Forestry Bureau’s Dongshi Forest Management Office attached satellite transmitters and VHF radio trackers to the black bears, and set up electronic fences for the tribes around Danda to closely track the black bear’s movement path. Once entering the early warning and warning range of the electronic fence, the early warning warning task will be activated to remind the residents along the route to pay attention to preventing conflicts between people and bears.
According to the satellite tracking and positioning data updated every hour, the Forestry Bureau has learned that the Dongmaoshan black bear has a very large range of activities after its release. A total of 14 steep ridgelines were climbed, and the altitude range spanned from 432 to 2050 meters; the altitude change of the moving path also found that the cumulative movement of climbing and descending was as high as 27 kilometers, and the climbing slope even reached a 65-degree slope, roughly showing daytime activities, Pattern for night rest.
According to the analysis of the Forest Service, it is found from the movement path that in addition to the correction of the route due to passing through the settlement or affected by the terrain, the Dongmaoshan black bear obviously gradually moves northward, showing the phenomenon of “returning north”, which is consistent with the literature pointed out that the black bear in the Americas There may be similarities in the “going home behavior” of adult male bears after they are released into the wild.
Responsible editor: Yu Weining