Classified as 'endangered' by the Taiwan government, Formosan black bears are being pushed to the brink of extinction by illegal hunting and land clearing
"All this used to be bear habitat," she says. In particular, the Formosan black bear, a large omnivore native to the high, clouded mountains that run down the spine of Taiwan.
But despite an increased profile, these animals are still in deep trouble, says Hwang. Classified as"endangered" by the Taiwan government, the species is being pushed to the brink of extinction by illegal hunting and land clearing. Professor Mei-Hsiu Hwang and her assistant Wan-Ching Lin check bear camera traps high in the Taiwan mountains in May.Even during Japanese occupation of the island in the early 20th century there were reports of bears being found as low as 100 meters above sea level. Now, Hwang says, they almost entirely live above 1,000 meters.
In fact, the lack of interest to protect the bears that she faced when she started working with them made her furious. But now, a black bear corpse can be worth as much as $5,000 to a hunter. Studies around Yushan National Park prior to the 1980s found 22% of the area's bears were killed for their meat and body parts. By the 1990s, this had soared to 59%.
Displaying the GPS data of one adult male on her laptop, Hwang shows us his path over the course of months.
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