Continued survival of the Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus in Hainan, China
Determining whether cryptic remnant animal populations survive within specific landscapes is a conservation challenge and may require multiple types of information. Hainan Island, China, has lost most of its large mammal fauna, with no recent evidence for persistence of large carnivores. We conducte...
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| author | Jialing Li Yilin Cui Hui Liu Youqiang Wang Heidi Ma Samuel T. Turvey |
| author_facet | Jialing Li Yilin Cui Hui Liu Youqiang Wang Heidi Ma Samuel T. Turvey |
| author_sort | Jialing Li |
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| description | Determining whether cryptic remnant animal populations survive within specific landscapes is a conservation challenge and may require multiple types of information. Hainan Island, China, has lost most of its large mammal fauna, with no recent evidence for persistence of large carnivores. We conducted a survey of local ecological knowledge in communities around seven protected areas in 2015, collecting sighting reports of the Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus. Respondents living near Wuzhishan National Nature Reserve reported the highest number of dated sightings as well as the most recent sightings. In follow-up interviews, wildlife rangers at Wuzhishan reported recent signs of bears and local hunting, and a possible bear photograph was taken inside the Reserve in 2017. Characteristic bear signs, including fresh diagnostic claw marks on trees, were detected at Wuzhishan in 2021, confirming bear presence. Wuzhishan is the last area in Hainan where large herbivores and carnivores survive, and where local conservation efforts still have the potential to maintain functional forest ecosystems that support megafaunal assemblages. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0030-6053 1365-3008 |
| language | English |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
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| spelling | doaj-art-abef8afeb4264fb99eaa9e653442623e2025-08-22T07:25:33ZengCambridge University PressOryx0030-60531365-30081510.1017/S0030605325000158Continued survival of the Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus in Hainan, ChinaJialing Li0Yilin Cui1Hui Liu2Youqiang Wang3Heidi Ma4Samuel T. Turvey5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3717-4800School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, China Wuzhishan Branch, Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park Administration, Wuzhishan, ChinaSchool of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, ChinaSchool of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, ChinaWuzhishan Branch, Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park Administration, Wuzhishan, ChinaInstitute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, UKInstitute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, UKDetermining whether cryptic remnant animal populations survive within specific landscapes is a conservation challenge and may require multiple types of information. Hainan Island, China, has lost most of its large mammal fauna, with no recent evidence for persistence of large carnivores. We conducted a survey of local ecological knowledge in communities around seven protected areas in 2015, collecting sighting reports of the Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus. Respondents living near Wuzhishan National Nature Reserve reported the highest number of dated sightings as well as the most recent sightings. In follow-up interviews, wildlife rangers at Wuzhishan reported recent signs of bears and local hunting, and a possible bear photograph was taken inside the Reserve in 2017. Characteristic bear signs, including fresh diagnostic claw marks on trees, were detected at Wuzhishan in 2021, confirming bear presence. Wuzhishan is the last area in Hainan where large herbivores and carnivores survive, and where local conservation efforts still have the potential to maintain functional forest ecosystems that support megafaunal assemblages.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0030605325000158/type/journal_articleAsiatic black bearinterviewslast-sighting dateslocal ecological knowledgescience-based monitoringsmall populationsurveyUrsus thibetanus |
| spellingShingle | Jialing Li Yilin Cui Hui Liu Youqiang Wang Heidi Ma Samuel T. Turvey Continued survival of the Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus in Hainan, China Oryx Asiatic black bear interviews last-sighting dates local ecological knowledge science-based monitoring small population survey Ursus thibetanus |
| title | Continued survival of the Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus in Hainan, China |
| title_full | Continued survival of the Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus in Hainan, China |
| title_fullStr | Continued survival of the Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus in Hainan, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Continued survival of the Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus in Hainan, China |
| title_short | Continued survival of the Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus in Hainan, China |
| title_sort | continued survival of the asiatic black bear ursus thibetanus in hainan china |
| topic | Asiatic black bear interviews last-sighting dates local ecological knowledge science-based monitoring small population survey Ursus thibetanus |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0030605325000158/type/journal_article |
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