We are pleased to share these recent URSUS articles with you. The articles below can be accessed through your IBA membership account link to BioOne.
Record of Asiatic black bear from low-elevation forests and tea plantations of northern West Bengal
Ursus 2024 (35e12), 1-5, (22 July 2024) https://doi.org/10.2192/URSUS-D-23-00009
KEYWORDS: Asiatic black bear, camera-traps, duars, Gorumara National Park, human–bear conflict, India, tea estates, Ursus thibetanus
Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) are 1 of the 4 species of bears that occur in India. The extant range in India ranges from Jammu and Kashmir in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east. In this present study, we report the first photographic evidence of Asiatic black bear from Gorumara National Park and low-elevation (80–100 m above sea level) tea plantations and towns in the foothills of the Himalayas in West Bengal, India, during 2021 and 2022. There have been multiple reports of bear sightings from different tea estates and localities around the national park. These reports of bear presence in these low-lying habitats of northern West Bengal raise questions about their sudden exodus from the mountains to the plains and call for a detailed study both in their native and current habitat to understand their ecology and behavior and to gather knowledge about the drivers of these disturbances.
Hand-rearing and developmental milestones of a Bornean sun bear
Boon Nie Yeoh, Yen Wah Seng, Siew Te Wong, Nabila Sarkawi
Ursus 2024 (35e13), 1-9, (2 August 2024) https://doi.org/10.2192/URSUS-D-24-00009R1
KEYWORDS: developmental milestone, growth rate, hand-rearing, Helarctos malayanus euryspilus, Malaysia, milk consumption, rehabilitation, sun bear
Understanding cub growth and developmental milestones is one crucial key in determining the success of conservation breeding of the endangered Bornean sun bear (Helarctos malayanus euryspilus). One Bornean sun bear was successfully hand-raised from 9 days old until weaning at the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, Malaysia in 2021. Maternal–cub interaction was recorded for the first 8 days before separation for hand-rearing because of a wound infection. This paper provides the details of the growth rate, milk consumption, behavior, and developmental milestones of the hand-reared cub. Health complications such as septicemia, gastrointestinal illness, and hair graying arose during the hand-rearing but were treated successfully with medicines and dietary supplements. This information can also serve as a crucial reference in the age estimation of rescued sun bear cubs from illegal pet trading and thereby facilitate cub management in captivity.