Asiatic Black Bear (Ursus theibetanus)
Status and Conservation of Asiatic Black
Bear (Ursus theibetanus) in
District Mansehra and Kohistan
Project Developer/Executant and
Affiliation
Asfandyar
khan
Project
Duration
12 Months
Project Summary
Of the 08 species of the bears in the
world, 02 occur in Pakistan; the
Asiatic/Himalayan Black bear and Brown
bear. According to T.J. Roberts In
Pakistan the Asiatic Black bear is mainly
confined to the Himalayan moist temperate
forests of Pakistan and Aj&K. In
servheen’s (1990) review of the status and
conservation of the bears of the world, he
found very limited information on the
Asiatic black bears in Pakistan. Even
basic information doesn’t exist for many
areas in the distributional ranges of this
species in Pakistan. So in that context
the applicant designed the said study to
collect the basic information on
scientific lines about the species
distribution and status in District
Mansehra and Kohistan and in Pakistan
generally. Applicant will also try to
build monitoring mechanism in the selected
study areas where its population currently
is growing well with the collaboration of
wildlife staff and local communities.
Project Aims
and Objectives
Project aim is to; collect the basic
information about the Asiatic black bear
distribution and status, identify threats
associated to the species and propose long
term needful conservation actions in its
existing habitat.
Objectives:
- To determine
the distribution, population density of
the black bear in the study area
- To determine
the economic loss due to black bear
attacks on crop, human, livestock
- Identify the
suitable mechanism to reduce the
human-black bear conflict
- To develop a
long term conservation action plan
Main Focus of
the Project
Species and Environmental education
Background and
Justification
Of the 08 species of the bears in the
world, 02 occur in Pakistan; the
Asiatic/Himalayan Black bear and Brown
bear. According to the T.J. Roberts In
Pakistan the Asiatic Black bear mainly
confined to the Himalayan moist temperate
forests of Pakistan and Aj&K. In Pakistan
it is mostly present in the lower part of
the Kaghan valley including sari and
shogran and Hazara Kohistan. Also present
in the deodar forests of northern Dir and
lower Chitral. In Gilgit; occurs in Chilas,
and extending southwards into the Indus
kohistan as per the T.J.Roberts. NWFP
wildlife department collected the black
bear sighting information and interviewed
the pastoral communities in 1992 to
collect some information about the black
bear population. According to that
information there were 88 bears in swat
district, 94 bears in Dir district, 2
bears in Chitral district, 34 bears in
Mansehra district and 16 bears in Kohistan
district. Thus the total population of
black bear in N.W.F.P was estimated at 234
in 1992
The major threats
to the species in its historic habitats
are; habitat loss, killing by farmers due
to the threat they pose to livestock, and
they are also unpopular for their habit of
stripping bark from valuable timber trees,
the capturing of bears from the wild for
using them for dancing and baiting bears.
The Asiatic bear is also known to be quite
aggressive towards human beings and there
are many incidents of bear attacks and
killings are found in its habitat ranges.
In some other parts of the world it is
also threatened by hunting, especially for
their gall
bladders to obtain bile, which is used in
traditional Chinese medicines (due to lack
of information, In Pakistan we don’t have
any information about that).
While realizing
the importance of the conservation of the
species in its historic habitat the
applicant interviewed and visits various
organizations and local communities in the
district Mansehra and Kohistan of Hazara.
Collected information is presented below;
Presence of
Black Bear in Kohistan
The presence of black bear was recorded by
the Kohistan wildlife department in 1998.
The survey was conducted during autumn by
the wildlife staff and the Himalayan
jungle project to assess the status,
occurrence and distribution of black bear
in Pattan, Dubair, Keyal, Palas, Kolai,
Jalkot, Kaigah, Kandian and Harban valleys
of district Kohistan. As per the survey
result a total of 9 Black Bear were
recorded in Dubair valley, 14 Black Bear
in Pattan, 9 Black Bear in Keyal, 21 Black
Bear in Palas, 7 Black Bear in Kolai, 16
Black Bear in Kandian, 12 Black Bear in
Jalkot , 6 Black Bear in Kaigah and 4
Black Bear were recorded in
Harban valley. The collected information
was mainly based on the observations of
the local people. Black bear occurrence in
restricted niches was also confirmed
through indirect evidences, such as damage
to agriculture crops, fruit orchards and
livestock. Survey results showed that the
animal is regarded with negative feeling
by the local because of its depredation to
crops and this leads to its ruthless
hunting. The animal is also hunted in
retaliation when its attacks on the
livestock or pose threat to human
population.
Apart from the
shooting of adult, young cubs are captured
when they come to feed in ripening maize
crops. These cubs are then sold through a
middle man to certain nomadic gypsy tribes
who train them to stimulate dancing and
baiting and there by earn a living.
Big size animals
probably males are also hunted for its fat
value these animals are particularly fat
and heavy in autumn. The fat extracted
from black bear is used locally for the
massage on bones, joints for the relief of
pain and sold to the outside dealers.
During survey it was carefully
investigated to get a crude idea regarding
the number of animals, may have been
killed or captured during the past 2
years. It was learnt that on limited scale
the capturing of black bear cubs and
shooting of the animals for various
reasons is reported in district Kohistan.
However, such poaching take place
infrequently despite of their poverty,
local showed little interest in the use of
the species parts. The small scale
unorganized/irregular use regime of black
bear has not encouraged the locals to
attach a nominal market value to the
species. It was also learnt that outside
the district Kohistan the trade of bear
cubs by the casual poachers fetch
reasonable price. Capturing of cubs in
Kohistan is not organized and it is fairly
circumstantial. The in frequent poaching
of the bear gives us a rough idea
regarding threats to its population.
Presence of
Black Bear in Mansehra
According to the HASHAAR development
organization the black bear presence was
reported in Methal, Panjool forest, Kund
forest, Garang nala, Nikki mohri,
Bandhodhar, Khilarian, Bari Baik-nikka pur
Few GPS locations
were noted where black bear was sighted in
2004 in the district Mansehra. Panjool and
Kund forest, that are adjacent to Methal
village (73.17.810 N 34.35.302 E).
Similarly pug marks of black bear were
seen at Garang nala near Garang village
(73.18.155 N 34.35.302 E) and at
Bandhodhar and Khilarian (73.18.155 N
34.35.302 E). People sold cubs of black
bear and performed pilgrimage, an example
is of Hajji Qalandar khan, and he sold two
cubs in 1997 at bar Palas, Kohistan. In
the month of July
and August black bear moves towards a
fruit plant Guch (Vibearnum nervsosus) and
Ukroon (local name) near villages.
In 2005 a black
bear attacked and killed a villager at
Moza Fateh Bandi, Mansehra district and
the same black bear also attacked three
school going children badly injured them.
After a few days it was killed by the
villagers. (NWFP Wildlife department
compensate villagers).
Conclusion
The Asiatic black bear is a threatened
species according to the Redlist Data Book
of the IUCN. The present issues related to
the species decline were not
scientifically assessed so far. While
realizing the issues and threats to the
species in its historic habitat of the
Hazra district
the present research is designed and
presented to the SC for the financial
support to collect some basic information
for designing a long term conservation
action for the species. Potential sites in
District Mansehra and Kohistan will be
studied in detailed under the project with
the collaboration of wildlife department
and local communities.
Describe three
main points that you feel make your
Project special
- It will provide
data about the estimated population of
the species
- It will be the
first work on human-black bear conflict
management in Kohistan
- The project
will also raise awareness about the
ecological significance of the species
amongst the local communities
- Moreover, this
project will help to generate useful
information by which people could take
mitigating measures to reduce the
human-black bear conflict
Detailed
Project Activities
- Collection of
sighting records through GPS
- Develop GIS
based maps with the help of
WWF-Pakistan’s GIS Lab.
- Conduct pugmark
survey for the population estimation and
build the capacity of the wildlife staff
- Analyze the
collected information for the population
estimation
- Assess the
extent of the damages to livestock and
crops in selected villages in the study
area
- Identify the
root causes of the human-black bear
conflict
- Identify the
prey base of the species in the selected
area
- Document the
results and publish in different forums
Expected
Achievements/Results/Outputs
- Extent and
reasons of damages because of black bear
known
- Mechanism
available for the community to minimize
the economic impacts
- A detailed long
term conservation action plan will be
developed
Evaluation
The project process and progress shall
be regularly evaluated through established
process and procedures.
Dissemination
of Results
Findings and results will be shared at
local, national and international level
through print and electronic material.
Names &
Addresses of Two Referees who are familiar
with the work of the Project
Project Executants
Mr. Ali Hassan Habib, Director General,
WWF-Pakistan
Mr. Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, Manager
Conservation, NWFP, WWF-Pakistan
Mr. Ashiq Ahmad Khan, Member Scientific
Committee, WWF-Pakistan
Project Documents:
-
Status and Conservation of Asiatic Black
Bear (Ursus theibetanus) in District
Mansehra and Kohistan.
(New)
|
