Ussuri brown bear (Profile)

[grrraaahhh]

DESCRIPTION

(U.) a. beringianus of middendorff, 1851 - [Ussuri brown bear, black grizzly or horse bear].

Ursus of arctos of beringiana of middendorff, 1851: 74 (March - reprint), 80 (June, periodical) [[Bol]. [Shantar], the Shantar Islands; Ogenev (1931) erroneously indicated as standard location on Mal. [Shantar]; see: Abramov, [Baryshnikov], 1990: 8; lecture (Ognev 1931: 94): skull, [ZIN] 0.1226 ad, are studied]. - U. lasiotus of gray, 1867: 301 (see the synonymy species). - U. mandchuricus of Heude, 1898: 23, PI. VII, fig. 1-le (see the synonymy of species). - U. arctos of sachalinensis of Alekseeva, Alekseyev, 1996: 81 (Sakhalin, on [tavtonimii]; standard material is not designated).






Igor, E. Chestin writes about the combining of the two subspecies, (U. a. lasiotus and U. a. mandzhuricus, previously described by Ognev (1924) into one, U. a. lasiotus (Geptner et al. 1967). Later these forms were separated again (Tikhonov 1986), which is probably as it should be. However, the author did not offer any data in support of his conclusion. The numbers of these two forms are 9500-10000 and 3000- 3500, respectively (Chestin et al. 1992).


Distribution of U. a. lasiotus occurs in the Far East (Primorye, & Amur Region, Russia) to the south of U. a. yeniseensis. Further south, U. a. mandzhuricus inhabits the region along the Amur river near the boundary with China, into northern Manchuria and north Korea reaching to the Islands of Shantar, Sakhalin and Hokaido (Japan).





Population data in the Far of East show 2-2,500 bears in Amur area and 2,300 in Promoria (Seryodkin 2006). In the northeast of China brown bear population continues their decades decline. Timber cutting and poaching have pushed down brown bear numbers with estimates at near to under 1,000 copies in the greater Manchuria areas of Da Xinganling, Xiao Xinganling, northern Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning (Jien & Harris 2006).





Ecology. In the Ussuri taiga are found high portions of diet activity of timber of Korean cedar and the abundance of oak-wood on the [deforested] in the last century mountain slopes. It will be appropriate note that here - the reign not only of brown and Himalayan bears, but also wild boar, tiger, red deer and furry beasts.


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To be continued....

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e-fotek.pl/images/85160381127536058069.jpg

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Natural habitat, population and management of
Brown bear in the Amur region

Andrey PAVLOV, Maksim BORMOTOV and Aleksandr SENCHIK
Far Eastern State Agricultural University, Blagoveschensk, Russia

At present time, the actual problem in Amur region (Russia) is the population of brown bear.
Forest fires have direct impact upon the conditions of this species’ habitat. Fires destroy their
food supply and impair protective and breeding conditions. Brown bear is forced to migrate in
search of food and sufficient habitat.
Brown bear (Ursus arctos) is one of the biggest predators in the Amur region. According to our
research there are species whose height reaches up to 2,5 m., and weight – up to 700 kilograms.
On the average, a bear’s weight is 150 - 300 kilograms. Usually male bears are considerably
bigger than females.
Different subspecies have various fur color. In total sample, brown and grayish-brown colors
of various brightness from light and whitish to dark brown prevail. Winter fur is very thick with
well-developed undercoat. That is why during winter season bear’s skin is considered to have
the best trophy qualities.
Bear’s annual cycle of life can be divided into two periods: wakeful state (from spring to the
beginning of winter) and hibernation (from the beginning of winter to spring). During summer
bears can migrate in search of food.
Bears have well-developed hearing and sense of smell; their eyesight is less developed. The
usual bear gait is slow and calm ambling, but in case of need an animal can run with the speed
of up to 50 kilometers per hour.
Bears are omnivorous animals. Their teeth structure points out that they are used to
vegetable rather than to animal food.
The most typical habitat of brown bears in the Amur region is taiga and the subzone of mixed
forest. Often they come out of forests to moss moors.
Females usually produce offspring once in 2-4 years. If a female has a non-manifest pregnancy,
an embryo will not be developing before November, when the female goes to its den. The
pregnancy lasts for 6-8 months, and the delivery occur from January to March, while a female is
still in hibernation. Bears reach puberty at the age of 4-6 years, but keep growing until 10-11
years. Their life span can be as long as 20-30 years.
Bears do not have many enemies. Rarely a pack of wolves may attack a single animal.
Sometimes a tiger can attack them, but big brown bear species are serious opponents for a tiger.
The main subspecies in the Amur region is Amur brown bear (Ursus arctos lasiotus Gray,
1867). In our area they go to den by the end of November, and come out of hibernation at the end
of March or beginning of April. The seasoning may vary due to weather (air temperature,
precipitation) or feeding conditions. Occasionally there are non-hibernating bears.
Brown bears are widely spread in taiga zone. In steppe areas they are rarely to be encountered.
The population of brown bear in the Amur region vary slightly, but the general tendency
during the period from 2012 to 2014 is that it grows.
www.sizenken.biodic.go.jp/nichiro/Abstracts.pdf

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A rather large male .

Location:
Bastak Nature Reserve (Russian: Бастак заповедник) (also Bastack) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) located in the Amur River basin in the Russian Far East. The reserve's territory covers the south-eastern spurs Bureinsky Ridge and the northern outskirts of the Sredneamurskaya lowlands. The reserve is situated in about 10 km north of the city of Birobidzhan in the Birobidzhansky District, and is the only national reserve in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastak_Nature_Reserve