Himalayan black bear

The species' fossilized remains were discovered in Germany and France, but currently, it only exists in Asia, mainly confined in the Himalayas of India, Bhutan, Nepal, China, and Pakistan. During the summer, black bears can be found in warmer areas in Nepal, China, Bhutan, India and Tibet up near the timberline. The species prefers moist temperate forest mixed with deciduous broad-leaved forest, and mixture of oak, and thick dense under layer of shrubby vegetation between 1500 m to 3000 m elevation, and subtropical pine forest between 900 m to 1700 m elevation. For winter, they descend as low as , to more tropical forests. The species might with the distribution of U. t. thibetanus across Myanmar and northeast India to possibly Nepal in the Himalayan range. , India ==Behavior and ecology==

Diet Several authors reported that the bear shifts their habitats following a change in food abundance, i.e., the seasonal migration of bears at different altitudes change with the food availability. They are omnivorous creatures (like most bears) and will eat just about anything. Their diet consists of acorns, nuts, fruit, honey, roots, and various insects such as termites and beetle larvae. If food is scarce, they may turn to eating livestock such as sheep, goats, and cattle. In spring black bear nourishes itself by using juicy flora; following summer it takes insects, fruits, and different vegetation while in autumn it feeds on nuts and acorns, simultaneously taking a high ratio of meat. During autumn, it moves and covers a long distance to explore food for survival just before the hibernation when food requirements increase, resulting in high conflict by the end of autumn. It is physiologically adapted for arboreal feeding, with its relatively heavy front quarters and short curved claws providing support for its frugivorous feeding habits (Mattson 1998). The species mainly ate soft mast (e.g., Prunus spp., Rubus spp., Machilus spp. and Ziziphus spina-christi), hard mast (e. g. Quercus spp., Pinus spp., Fagus spp. and Juglans spp.), green vegetation, crops (such as maize, millet and potato), cultivated fruits (date palm, pear, banana, papaya, apple and peach), mammals and insects. Breeding They reach sexual maturity at approximately three years. Mating occurs in October with usually two cubs born in February, while the mother is still hibernating. The offspring usually stay with their mother into the second year. ==Status, threats and future conservation implications ==

This subspecies is listed as 'vulnerable' due to encroachment of human population, forest fires and the timber industries; these have all reduced the bear's habitat. There is also a high mortality rate among the newborn. And even though hunting of the black bear has been forbidden since 1977, there is still a large problem with poaching. Habitat fragmentation, habitat loss and destruction, conversion of bear habitat into agricultural land as well as other anthropogenic pressures are significantly influencing the black bear population and its habitat Climate change is predicted to cause a shift in the existing suitable area or increase the suitable area for the Asiatic black bears, leading to disturbances in habitat connectivity. Research suggests that more than 70% of suitable habitat in the Himalayan Black Bear habitat will remain as climate refugia in the future, but a reduction of more than 25% in suitable habitat could be challenging, especially in cases of transboundary bear populations. In countries with low bear populations, such as Nepal and Bangladesh, the reduction in suitable habitat could be most severe. Thus, establishing movement corridors between these protected areas is a key means for helping to conserve this species. ==References==