BioOne.org will be down briefly for maintenance on 17 December 2024 between 18:00-22:00 Pacific Time US. We apologize for any inconvenience.
How to translate text using browser tools
2 September 2024 Temporal segregation between female Asiatic black bears with unweaned offspring and solitary bears
Shota Umano, Tomoki Mori, Kazuteru Mikuni, Yasuaki Niizuma
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Mammalian females with unweaned offspring often engage in spatial and temporal segregation to avoid encounters with conspecifics, reducing the risks of infanticide and resource competition. Such behavioral strategies have been reported in bears (Ursus spp.), but knowledge is limited in Asiatic black bears (U. thibetanus). Here, we investigated the temporal segregation of Asiatic black bears with unweaned offspring as a behavioral strategy, using 21 camera traps in Shirakawa Village, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, from June to October 2019. Such a behavioral strategy would be influenced by food abundance, so we also evaluated the production of 6 fruits that are consumed by bears in the study area. Although a direct relationship may not be evident, our findings provided preliminary but suggestive evidence of temporal segregation, with females with unweaned offspring displaying increased daytime activity compared with solitary bears, possibly as an attempt to avoid infanticide and competition for food access.

Shota Umano, Tomoki Mori, Kazuteru Mikuni, and Yasuaki Niizuma "Temporal segregation between female Asiatic black bears with unweaned offspring and solitary bears," Ursus 2024(35e14), 1-8, (2 September 2024). https://doi.org/10.2192/URSUS-D-23-00023.1
Received: 19 September 2023; Accepted: 22 March 2024; Published: 2 September 2024
KEYWORDS
Asiatic black bears
behavior
Camera trap
competition
infanticide
Japan
temporal segregation
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top