The Asiatic Black Bear

The Asiatic Black Bear is a medium to large sized species of bear that is found inhabiting the deciduous tropical forest throughout Asia. Known to be closely related to the American Black Bear, the two species exhibit a number of similarities including their size, appearance and behaviour and are thought to have actually shared a common ancestor some 4 million years ago. Unlike the American Black Bear however, that is showing increases in population numbers particularly in certain areas, the Asiatic Black Bear is considered to be an endangered species throughout it's native range today as populations have declined drastically due to both loss of their natural habitats to deforestation and the fact they are the most prized of all bear species that are hunted for their body parts (mainly the gall bladder) that are used in traditional medicines and also as a culinary delicacy in some areas.

Like the other seven bear species found around the world, the Asiatic Black Bear has a strong and sturdy body with a large head and thick-set legs which are strong enough to enable the Asiatic Black Bear to both stand and walk on, using bipedal movement in order to make themselves appear even bigger when they feel threatened or are competing for territory with other individuals. Asiatic Black Bears have a black coat of fur (sometimes brown or even blonde depending on the subspecies) with a distinctive whitish v-shaped marking on their chest and a ruff of longer fur around their necks which again is thought to help to make them appear larger in size than they actually are. As with other bear species, Asiatic Black Bears have a keen sense of smell that is vital in helping them to find food and is reflected in their impressively long snout. However, despite the fact that their ears are larger than those of their relatives, they share the same bad sight and hearing and so rely heavily on their sense of smell to figure out their surroundings.

Asiatic Black Bears would have once been found throughout both Europe and Asia with fossil records having been uncovered from as far west as France and Germany, but have more recently been confined to regions in Central and Southern Asia from Afghanistan to Japan and south to Thailand with a handful of populations also found as far north as Russia. Although they have a relatively wide distribution throughout South-East Asia as well including Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand they are today absent from Malaysia, possibly due to the overlap of these territories with that of the Sun Bear. Their exact habitats depend on the geographical region where they are found although Asiatic Black Bears prefer deciduous forests and brushland at lower altitudes. Despite this though, the encroachment of human activity on these lowland regions from increasing levels of agriculture and growing human settlements has resulted in the remaining populations of Asiatic Black Bears being pushed into small and isolated pockets of vegetation at higher altitudes.

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