Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) are native to 20 countries across Asia including the Republic of Korea (South Korea). They are classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List and face threats of habitat loss, hunting, and bile farming. Following decades of decline from poaching for medicinal purposes, eradication during Japanese occupation and habitat destruction, the species was extirpated from South Korea by the 1990s. A reintroduction program in one of the national parks started in 2004 and has largely been considered a demographic success, with the bears now populating the reintroduction site of Jiri Mountain National Park and even dispersing to forests north of the park. With the population of the park reaching saturation, some questions arise. How many bears can sustainably live in the national park? In the country? How should the government move forward with program? Should the current population be augmented? What about habitat and connectivity? Can the bears repopulate the country without further help, or should another reintroduction be implemented in another part of the country? 

In this study, we attempted to answer these questions using ecological modelling, a growing field in addressing conservation issues for threatened species. We used ecological niche modelling combined with population simulations and landscape connectivity mapping to find suitable bear habitat throughout the country, estimate population sizes at equilibrium for the national park and the country, and identify corridors for bear movement between habitat patches. Interpreting these models, we reached a conclusion that while the population in Jiri Mountain National Park is a success story, there is still work to be done if the bears are to be truly restored to the rest of the country. Besides working to maintain the current population, two major things must be done: 

To be clear, without a second reintroduction, it is almost certain we will not see bears fully restored to South Korea in our lifetimes. Without a second reintroduction, the bear population will hover around 230, but with a second reintroduction, we may see up to 1,438 bears able to live sustainably throughout the country. 

Just as important for the future of the bears will be restoring a habitat matrix that promotes habitat and connectivity. With a growing population, bears will start to disperse in order to look for territory, but dispersal can only happen if habitats are connected by wildlife corridors. 

One individual – an adventurous young male known as KM-53 – has already dispersed from the park multiple times, including an incident where he was hit by a bus, thankfully surviving with just a broken leg. The route this bear took lends some real-world validation to our connectivity mapping, as he took a route exactly following one of our modelled pathways. The story of this bear shows an increased need for wildlife corridors in order to prevent casualties and allow bears to move freely across the country. 

Of course, as with the reintroduction of any large carnivore, the government will need the people on their side. Since the start of the program, there have been conflicts going both ways – such as, brazen bears with penchants for honey attacking hives and causing problems for humans, while humans set traps which can be fatal for bears. It seems, though, that much of this conflict can be mitigated by installing electric fences around areas where bears shouldn’t be and through educating the public about the benefits of species restoration. In fact, the government has already successfully marketed the Asiatic black bears of Jiri Mountain National Park as a local and national mascot, which brings them a step closer to public acceptance and reintroduction success. 

References: 

Andersen, D., Yi, Y., Borzée, A., Kim, K., Moon, K.-S., Kim, J.-J., Kim, T.-W., & Jang, Y. (2022). Use of a spatially explicit individual-based model to predict population trajectories and habitat connectivity for a reintroduced ursid. Oryx, 56(2), 298–307. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605320000447

Borzée, A., Yi, Y., Andersen, D., Kim, K., Moon, K.-S., Kim, J.-J., Kim, T.-W., & Jang, Y. (2019). First dispersal event of a reintroduced Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) in Korea. Russian Journal of Theriology, 18(18 (1)).  https://doi.org/10.15298/rusjtheriol.18.1.06