Asiatic Black Bear (redirected from Himalayan Black Bear)

Asiatic Black Bear 

(Ursus thibetanus), a mammal of the order Carnivora. The body of the male is 150–170 cm long, the height at the withers is approximately 80 cm, and it weighs up to 120 kg. The fur is short, lustrous, and black; on the chest there is a light patch in the shape of a half-moon. The animal is distributed in the forest regions of Southeast Asia, as well as in the Himalayas, Afghanistan, and Baluchistan; in the USSR it is found in the extreme south of the Far East.

The animal’s way of life is little known. It lives primarily in mountain deciduous forests. It is a mobile, agile animal, very adept at climbing trees. The Asiatic black bear eats basically vegetable matter, more rarely carrion and fish. The animals mate in June and July. The females give birth to one or two cubs. During the winter they sleep in a den, often in the hollows of large trees. The animals are hunted for their meat and skins, but their commercial significance is not great. In some places they have been annihilated.

REFERENCE

Mlekopitaiushchie Sovetskogo Soiuza, vol. 2. Edited by V. G. Geptner and N. P. Naumov. Moscow, 1967.

O. L. ROSSOLIMO