Ecology and human conflict of asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus laniger) in Mansehra District, Pakistan

Abstract

The Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus laniger) inhabits deciduous, broad-leaved forests, thorn brush forests, and coniferous forests, occurring from 1500 up to 4,000 m above sea level. The species, in many areas of its range, is in conflict with humans, however, data on its population and economic losses are scanty in the country. We investigated its occurrence, population and human conflict in Mansehra District during 2016-2017. A total of 66 indirect signs of Asiatic black bear were recorded with an altitudinal variation of habitat ranging from 1511m to 2570m elevation including 17 dens and 44 scats of the bear from 10 different sampling sites. The sign density of black bear ranged between 17/km2 (Paris MRF site) and 1.2/km2 (Sharan site). Sign density was high in habitats having thick, dense and broad-leaved forest with steep slopes having the water resource/s. Sightings of the bear were the highest in the month of July (32%), and the least from November 2016 to March 2017. A total of 74 livestock were killed (in previous five years span) by Asiatic black bear including goats (75%), sheep (14%), and cows (11%), amounting to economic loss of 15,240 US$. Moreover, 16,420 kg maize was damaged by Asiatic black bear having a worth of 3284 US$.