Monday, March 09, 2009

Bear cubs in Jirisan

Once again, I was wrong.

In August, 2005, when bears were released into Jiri National Park, I predicted a quick and messy end to the experiment.

It soon appeared I would be proven right and that quickly.

However, some bears do remain and their numbers have increased by at least two:
Two female Manchurian black bears gave birth to cubs in the wild around Mt. Jiri in January after being released from captivity in 2005, the Ministry of Environment said, Monday.

The discovery represents the first time the bears have reproduced in the wild without the need for medical assistance, the government said.

The Korean National Park Corporation said both mothers, named Janggang and Songwon, are doing well. It was said that they have been sheltering in a cave since December after mating in May.
Congrats to the new mothers and I hope to continue to be wrong about the fate of these bears.

Oh, some Bear safety advice for Jiri hikers.

Via Bizarro Brian

2 comments:

Brian said...

I guess I'm kind of confused, though. I recalled reading something that said the bears were captured on film for the first time and hadn't been seen by visitors to Jirisan. But from reading your other posts I see that's not true, and I just stumbled across that article and realized it's from a few years before they were reintroduced.

http://eng.me.go.kr/docs/news/hotissue/hotissue_view.html?topmenu=E&cat=520&seq=8&page=5

kwandongbrian said...

Hmm. 2002. I hadn't realized there were any bears in the park before 2005. Interesting.