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
1 December 2013 Summer Food Habits of the Asiatic Black Bears in Moor of Oze Area, Central Japan
Yukihiko Hashimoto, Tomohito Anrui
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

We investigated the food habits of Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) in Oze National Park, Japan, and analyzed the abundance and nutritional content of skunk cabbage (Lysichiton camtschatcense) to evaluate the quality of moorland habitat for foraging bears. Analysis of 141 scats collected from August 2005 to September 2009 revealed that spadices of skunk cabbage were important food items in summer when other foods for bears are scarce. Skunk cabbage is a valuable food resource for Asiatic black bears in terms of nutrition, predictability, quantity, and availability, but it also has several negative features. Moorland that provides high quantities of this food resource appear to be important habitat for Asiatic black bears around Oze National Park. In the conservation and management of Oze National Park, skunk cabbage populations and field signs of bears should be monitored.

© The Mammal Society of Japan
Yukihiko Hashimoto and Tomohito Anrui "Summer Food Habits of the Asiatic Black Bears in Moor of Oze Area, Central Japan," Mammal Study 38(4), 235-241, (1 December 2013). https://doi.org/10.3106/041.038.0407
Received: 13 October 2012; Accepted: 27 July 2013; Published: 1 December 2013
KEYWORDS
food habits
Oze National Park
predictability
skunk cabbage
Ursus thibetanus.
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top