The Formosan black bear is one of seven subspecies of Asiatic black bear, vulnerable to extinction.
Taichung, Taiwan:
When the cage holding an endangered Formosan black bear broke open, conservationists fired gunshots and blew air horns to ensure the frightened young bear quickly disappeared into the mountains of central Taiwan, hopefully far from human contact.
Ziman, a one-and-a-half-year-old bear, had finally recovered from a severed leg caused by a hunter's steel rope and now had a second chance at life.
“Please take care of him and help him find his parents safely,” Pihao Payen, leader of a nearby Atayal ethnic community, said in a prayer as Ziman disappeared from view.
Dressed in a traditional tribal robe and a headdress decorated with animal horns, the 74-year-old chief and experienced hunter also prayed for help from his ancestors to keep Ziman away from the traps.
Taiwanese hunters and conservationists are teaming up to protect the Formosan black bear, estimated to have only a few hundred left in the wild, by designing new traps that won't amputate limbs if they are accidentally caught.
While bears are not a target for indigenous Taiwanese hunters, people in Pihao Payen village have accidentally caught bears twice in recent years when setting traps for prey such as deer and wild boar, a traditional practice in indigenous culture.
Since 2014, 18 bears have been caught in traps and six of them were found dead, according to the non-governmental organization Taiwan Black Bear Conservation Association.
While most of the bears were released, some suffered significant injuries caused by old hunting tools, such as metal traps, which can break bones or cut off paws or toes when the bear struggles to free itself.
“The steel traps bounce on the ground and strain their limbs when triggered by the animals,” said Liu Li-wen, an animal caretaker who oversaw Ziman's recovery at a government-run bear sanctuary in the mountains of Taichung.
“The traps were tightened more and more as the animal resisted. When blood circulation stopped, its entire leg became necrotic,” she said, showing photos of Ziman's swollen left paw. Vets had to cut off most of the leg to save the pup's life after two months of treatment.
“That's why we see a lot of bears with broken paws or toes in the wild. They were probably caught in traps, freed themselves and survived,” he said.
NEW TRAPS
The Formosan black bear is one of seven subspecies of Asiatic black bear that the International Union for Conservation of Nature considers vulnerable to extinction.
The Formosan black bear, native to subtropical Taiwan and bearing an iconic white V-shaped marking on its chest, is regarded as a symbol of Taiwanese identity, championing its diverse culture and freedom. Democratic Taiwan was once better known internationally as Formosa.
To reduce deaths or injuries to wildlife, the Forest and Wildlife Conservation Agency is now urging hunters and farmers to adopt a new type of animal trap designed to catch only smaller prey and that is not set to the point of amputation.
More than 5,600 such traps have been handed out free of charge to hunters and farmers in mountainous Taiwan, which is 60% covered by forest, while monetary rewards are offered to those who report cases of bears caught in traps.
“Because of its small size and the bear's palm being very wide, it seems that (the bear's paw) will not fall completely when stepped on like this,” said Pan Wen-ming, an Amis guava hunter and farmer in central Taiwan, as he demonstrated how to set the new trap to Reuters reporters.
“This is to minimize (injuries to bears) while still allowing our tribal elders and hunters to continue hunting game,” he said.
Chen Yen-long, head of the Wushikeng Research Center bear sanctuary in Taichung, said some hunters killed trapped bears for fear of prosecution for trapping a protected animal.
Sadly, Ziman, the cub with the amputated leg, was found dead in the central mountains just weeks after his release, with authorities unable to determine the cause of his death.
“This is not the end of the story. We are not going to stop doing what we are doing,” said Lai Chiao Ling, one of Ziman's caretakers. “At least there are still bears in the wild that we can save.”
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