• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.197-207
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• 2016

This study aims at providing basic data to objectively evaluate the areas suitable for reintroduction of the species of Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) in order to effectively preserve the Asiatic black bears in the Korean protection areas including national parks, and for the species restoration success. To this end, this study predicted the potential habitats in East Asia, Southeast Asia and India, where there are the records of Asiatic black bears' appearances using the Maxent model and environmental variables related with climate, topography, road and land use. In addition, this study evaluated the effects of the relevant climate and environmental variables. This study also analyzed inhabitation range area suitable for Asiatic black and geographic change according to future climate change. As for the judgment accuracy of the Maxent model widely utilized for habitat distribution research of wildlife for preservation, AUC value was calculated as 0.893 (sd=0.121). This was useful in predicting Asiatic black bears' potential habitat and evaluate the habitat change characteristics according to future climate change. Compare to the distribution map of Asiatic black bears evaluated by IUCN, Habitat suitability by the Maxent model were regionally diverse in extant areas and low in the extinct areas from IUCN map. This can be the result reflecting the regional difference in the environmental conditions where Asiatic black bears inhabit. As for the environment affecting the potential habitat distribution of Asiatic black bears, inhabitation rate was the highest, according to land coverage type, compared to climate, topography and artificial factors like distance from road. Especially, the area of deciduous broadleaf forest was predicted to be preferred, in comparison with other land coverage types. Annual mean precipitation and the precipitation during the driest period were projected to affect more than temperature's annual range, and the inhabitation possibility was higher, as distance was farther from road. The reason is that Asiatic black bears are conjectured to prefer more stable area without human's intervention, as well as prey resource. The inhabitation range was predicted to be expanded gradually to the southern part of India, China's southeast coast and adjacent inland area, and Vietnam, Laos and Malaysia in the eastern coastal areas of Southeast Asia. The following areas are forecast to be the core areas, where Asiatic black bears can inhabit in the Asian region: Jeonnam, Jeonbuk and Gangwon areas in South Korea, Kyushu, Chugoku, Shikoku, Chubu, Kanto and Tohoku's border area in Japan, and Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Fujian border area in China. This study is expected to be used as basic data for the preservation and efficient management of Asiatic black bear's habitat, artificially introduced individual bear's release area selection, and the management of collision zones with humans.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.298-301
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• 2004

Pregnancy diagnosis by ultrasonography was performed for both pregnant and non-pregnant Asiatic black bears which were being under hibernation. Pregnancy was diagnosed for a pregnant bear by detecting images of heart-beat and vertebrae on ultrasonograph. Serum progesterone levels were measured for both pregnant and non-pregnant bears. The level of serum progesterone was 5.79 ng/ml for a pregnant bear and 0.76 ng/ml for a non-pregnant bear, respectively, thereby it was considered that measurement of serum progesterone level can be also useful for pregnancy diagnosis for Asiatic black bear.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.1134-1136
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• 2003

In this research, GIS based evaluation methods were applied to habitats of Japanese black bear (Ursus thibetanus japonicus Schlegel) in northern Honshu. The study area was divided into 828 small watershed units , and five GIS indexes, Vegetation Type（V.T.）, Extent of Forest Cover (E.F.C.) Slope Incline (S.I), Average Altitude (A.A.) and Road Density(R.D.), were used to evaluate each watershed unit in terms of suitability as black bear habitat. In addition, Interspersion and Juxtaposition spatial indices were calculated for each watershed unit. The results clearly identified the regions with the most suitable habitats, indicating that this methodology is suitable for application to various environmental planning efforts, such as regional development master plans, project-specific environmental impact assessments, species management plans and biodiversity conservation plans.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.347-355
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• 2007

Asiatic black Bear(Ursus thibetanus ussuricus) cubs aged one or two were introduced from Russia(Primosky krai) and North Korea for reinforcement of the bear population and they were released to grow wild in Jirisan National Park. We did research on the characteristics of the denning sites of the Asiatic black cubs, which were released before, from Oct. 2004 to Apr. 2006, and the results were as follows: The released bears hibernated in three types of dens,; tree hollows, rock hollows or ground nests. The hibernating sites were dominated by a community of oak trees and its location was at an average of $923{\pm}221m$ height above the sea level ; the average slope incline was $25.9{\pm}7.9^{\circ}$, and the average denning duration was $98{\pm}9$ days. It was analyzed that the cubs' denning site was $2.8{\pm}2.8km$, on an average, far from the release point; $2.0{\pm}0.9km$ far from villages; $1.9{\pm}1.7km$ far from park inspection trails, and $1.9{\pm}1.0km$ on the average far from a driveway. It is assumed that environmental attributes of the denning sites were closely correlated to those of the release points.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.102-113
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• 2016

This study analyzes the geographic information system (GIS) and machine learning models to understand the relationship between the appearance of hibernation sites and habitats in order to systematically manage the habitat of Asiatic Black Bear(Ursus thibetanus ussuricus) inhabiting Jirisan National Park, South Korea. The most important environmental factors influencing the hibernation sites was found to be the inclination(41.4%), followed by altitude(20.4%), distance from the trail(10.9%), and age group(7.7%) in the order of their contribution. A comparison between the hibernation habitat and the normal habitat of Asiatic Black Bear indicated that the average altitude of the hibernation sites was 63m, whereas the average altitude of the normal habitat was approximately 400m. The average inclination was found to be $7^{\circ}$, and a preference for the steeper inclination of $12-43^{\circ}$ was also observed. The average distance of the hibernation site from the road was approximately 300m; the range of separation distance was found to be 1,300-2,400m. This was thought to be the result of a safer selection of winter hibernation site by preventing human contact and outside invasion. This study analyzes the habitat environmental factors for the selection of hibernation sites that prevent severe cold and other threats during the hibernation period in order to provide fundamental data for hibernation ecology and habitat management of Asiatic Black Bear.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.196-203
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• 2019

Habitat loss by industrialization, urbanization, and poaching reduced the population of Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetabus ussuricus) population in South Korea in the late 20^th Century. In the early 2000s, the Korean Government had begun a restoration project of Asiatic black bear. In 2017, a bear was found in Mt. Sudosan, Gimcheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do, approximately 80 km from Mt. Jirisan where the bear was first released. Genetic analysis confirmed that this bear was one of the Jirisan bear population, estimating that this bear escaped from its habitat. After trapping this bear in Mt. Sudosan, it was rereleased again in Mt. Jirisan, but this bear moved again to Mt. Sudosan. After 2^nd trapping and releasing, this bear came back to Mt. Sudosan. In Mt. Sudosan, this bear covered a greater distance and moved more as compared to other Asiatic black bear in Mt. Jirisan. Today, this bear has its home range within Mt. Sudosan area after the third release, estimating that this bear is stable and active in this area. Our findings are the first case showing the interesting pattern of repetitive disperse activities and habitat expansion of Asiatic black bear. The results of this case are valuable information that can be used for wildlife conservation and restoration of endangered wildlife.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.149-151
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• 2014

A 170 kg, 9-year-old, female Asian black bear was presented for sterilization. Physical examination revealed no evidence of any abnormal clinical sign. Laparoscopic salpingectomy was performed for sterilization. A $25^{\circ}$ laparoscope was inserted in the first port, 1-cm caudal to the umbilical scar, to view the abdominal cavity. Two more ports were made 15 cm caudo-lateral to the first port bilaterally. An atraumatic grasper and a vessel-sealing device were inserted in the bilateral ports. The vessel-sealing device was used to seal and cut the fallopian tube and mesosalpinx. There was no sign of hemorrhage on the severed ends of the fallopian tube and mesosalpinx. At 4 weeks, no physical, behavioral, or other assessable impairment was found. This is the first case report in an Asian black bear to describe laparoscopic salpingectomy for sterilization.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.41-49
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• 2012

The objective of this study is to investigate the characteristics of the location and prospects of the bear shelves built by Asiatic black bears in the Jirisan National Park. Previous researchers have been analyzed bear shelves in terms of places for resting and eating, but we are going to analyze based on the prospect-and-refuge theory. Characteristics of the sites of bear shelves are measured through field survey and topographic analysis by using digital elevation model (DEM). The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is used to evaluate the optimum location of bear shelves in terms of crown density. Man-made objects are identified by viewshed analysis based on geographical information system (GIS). Findings of this paper can be summarized as follows. First, most bear trees are located deep inside of the mountainous national park, slopes of 30~40 degrees, altitude of 400~1,200m, and relatively low vegetation density with NDVI value of 0.4~0.6 compared to the average NDVI of the park. Second, the average height of bear shelves is 12.44m, or 74% of the average height of bear trees. They are located at suitable places to observe nearby trails and other park facilities. Third, man-made objects within the 100m radius of bear trees include lodge, bear training center, beekeeping camp, and hiking trails. Thus we may temporarily conclude that one of the main criteria of the bear tree selection in the park has been to identify optimum places for the monitoring of human activities in their habitat.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.497-505
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• 2019

Winter hibernation in wildlife is a unique physiological mechanism for survival. For Asiatic black bears (ABBs, Ursus thibetanus ussuricus), hibernation is a very important but dangerous time for the cubs to be born. This study surveyed ABBs living in Mt. Jiri To examine the relationship between the temperature during hibernation and the hibernation days. The survey found that the average start and end dates of hibernation was December 7 and April 20, respectively. The average day of hibernation for females who gave birth was $167.8{\pm}22.6$ days. The average temperature of 5 days before hibernation was $0.6{\pm}4.1^{\circ}C$, the average temperature during hibernation was $1.3{\pm}2.43^{\circ}C$, and the average temperature of five days before the end of hibernation was $12.6{\pm}3.1^{\circ}C$. The hibernation days of the females that did not give birth to cubs and the males were $120.4{\pm}25.7$ days and $113.6{\pm}25.8$ days, respectively. The average temperatures of 5 days before hibernation was $2.1{\pm}4.2^{\circ}C$ and $-1.8{\pm}3.9^{\circ}C$, respectively. The average temperature during hibernation was $-0.2{\pm}1.6^{\circ}C$ and $-0.4{\pm}2.4^{\circ}C$. The average temperatures of five days before the end of hibernation were $7.8{\pm}3.6^{\circ}C$ and $7.8{\pm}4.4^{\circ}C$. These results indicate that females giving birth to cubs have higher hibernation days and average temperatures than the females that do not give birth and the males, which is due to the process of raising cubs during hibernation. The hibernating days and mean temperature for the groups in each lifecycle did not show any difference between the groups. This study is meaningful in that it disclosed the characteristics of hibernating intrinsic behaviors of ABBs. It observed the specific hibernation period and temperature of ABBs bears inhabiting in Mt. Jiri and examined the difference by sex, female(giving birth) and life cycle group according to temperature. The results of this study can be used to prevent the conflict between ABBs and humans in winter and spring and establish the preservation management plan.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.536-543
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• 2008

This study was carried out to review the satisfaction with compensation for damage caused by the released Asiatic Black Bears into the whole area of Jirisan National Park and to offer basic data for reasonable conflict management with local community. A questionnaire survey was conducted from Jun. 2007 to Dec. 2007 on 93 subjects who got their compensations for the bear damage from 2004 until 2007. The results stayed at a middle level of satisfaction with the proper damage indemnity program with as mean $3.14{\pm}0.85$ points on the basis of 5 point scale. The satisfaction with compensation was found to have a significant correlation with the factors, such as income levels, whether to agree to restoration project, compensation money and compensation procedures. The compensation plan through the Animal Damage Compensation Consultation Committee was accepted positively(mean: $3.3{\pm}0.9$); however, to the compensation plan for the 80% compensation of actual amounts of bear damage, was acknowledged negatively(mean: $2.6{\pm}1.11$).