The Formosan black bear Lanihu (拉尼琥) has been found alive and well after the transmitter on his collar set off a distress signal last month, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said yesterday.
The agency’s Taitung branch previously cooperated with the WildOne wildlife conservation association and the local indigenous Kamcing Village (崁頂) to rescue and then release Lanihu, who had been trapped in a snare.
Lanihu is the seventh Formosan black bear to be rescued by the branch.
Photo courtesy of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s Taitung branch
After being released into the wild on March 14 last year, his activities were constantly monitored via satellite.
However, last month, the branch received a “suspected death signal” from the transmitter on Lanihu’s collar.
The branch immediately enlisted the help of WildOne and local people to search the mountains for Lanihu.
On the fourth day of the search, a Formosan black bear with an ear tag suddenly dashed across the team’s path.
Shortly after, they found a collar hanging from a tree branch close by.
Although the team was unable to photograph the bear, based on the transmitter’s previous activity and last location, as well as the ear tag, they confirmed it was Lanihu.
The team said they were happy to witness him thriving in the mountains and their worries were put to rest.
The detached collar was found at an altitude of 1,155m in a remote forest with many food sources and Fagaceae trees, the branch said.
The location is likely Lanihu’s stable habitat, as black bear claw marks and droppings were found there, as well as a bear’s den, the branch said.
Lanihu’s tracking data showed that he spent about six of the past nine months in the forests near Kamcing Village, the branch added.
To prevent Lanihu from being caught in a human-laid trap again, the branch immediately informs locals when he is nearby, it said.
Locals responded that they are not too worried, as they see Lanihu as a neighbor and part of the tribe.
Lanihu is mostly active during the day and rests at night, ranging between secondary and natural forests covering a total area of about 123.3km2 and altitudes from 500m to 1,500m, the branch said.
His core activity area is much smaller, covering only 22.2km2, it said.
Indigenous communities are welcome to join the ecological services payment program to promote black bear habitat conservation, the branch said.
Residents who need animal protection can apply to legally set up an electrical fence in exchange for improved hunting tools, helping to prevent the accidental trapping of black bears, it said.
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