ECOLOGY OF THE ASIATIC BLACK BEAR (URSUS-THIBETANUS) IN SICHUAN, CHINA

Seasonal food habits of the Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) were studied by dropping analysis and by following feeding trails in study areas in Wolong and Tangjiahe Natural Reserves, Sichuan, China. Bears were almost exclusively vegetarian, feeding on: young growth of forbs from April through early July ; berries of fruiting shrubs, creepers and trees from mid-July to October ; and mast crops in autumn. New shoots of Fargesia robusta bamboo were the primary food for bears in Wolong in May and June, and new shoots of F. scabrida bamboo supplemented the summer diet of fruit in Tangjiahe. An adult male, and a subadult male bear were radio-collared in Tangjiahe, and used home ranges of 36.5 and 16.4 km2 respectively. Both bears made distinct range shifts in early autumn to obtain mast foods at lower elevations. Bears were primarily diurnal, and increased their nocturnal activity in autumn. Winter denning periods lasted from late November to early April. The adult male denned in a hollow tree, and the subadult slept in nests of litter on relatively unsheltered cliff ledges. The seasonal diet, home range sizes, and movement and activity patterns were very similar to those of the North American black bear (U. americanus) in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, indicating a similar ecological niche for the two species. Bears in Sichuan benefit from a variety of forest types within their home ranges, and the availability of lower elevation broadleaved forests producing mast crops appears limiting in some areas. Bear conservation will require better habitat retention both inside and outside Reserves, and much better controls on current levels of hunting.