Asiatic black bear – Bears in Mind

Bear bile has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) due to its high concentration of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and its potential effectiveness in treating inflammatory conditions and liver diseases. Historically, bile was obtained from wild bears, but due to an unstable supply and growing demand, techniques were developed in the late 20th century to extract bile from live bears. This eventually led to the rise of the bear bile industry in various parts of Asia, including South Korea.

In South Korea, the commercial bear bile industry was promoted by the government starting in 1981, with hundreds of bears imported to expand captive populations. Despite increasing international criticism, the industry flourished throughout the 1990s. Over time, however, awareness campaigns by NGOs and policy reforms led to a gradual decline in the number of bear bile farms and captive bears. By 2022, there were still 322 bears in captivity in South Korea. In January 2022, the Ministry of Environment formally signed an agreement to end the bear bile industry and establish rescue facilities for captive bears.

As of January 1, 2026, the bear bile industry and bile extraction from bears are officially banned. Since then, the South Korean government has invested in rescue facilities, such as the Gurye Bear Rescue Center (for 49 bears) and a planned facility in Seocheon (for 70 bears). However, even with two major rescue centers, it remains extremely difficult to accommodate all the remaining bile bears in South Korea. As of early 2026, nearly 200 bears are still on farms, demonstrating that domestic capacity is insufficient.

For this reason, international rehoming is being considered as part of a broader long-term strategy. While relocating some bears to other countries does not solve the entire problem, it is an essential and practical step to reduce the number of bears in bile farms and promote international cooperation on animal welfare.

For this purpose, Koen Cuyten of Bears in Mind and Prof. DH Jeong of Chungbuk National University in South Korea held a discussion during the IBA Bear Conference in Canada in 2024 about the capacity issues for bile bears in Korea and possible international rehoming options. During this discussion, an initial plan was developed to provide a safe and long-term home for a group of South Korean bile bears in various European countries.

In March 2025, the Bears in Mind team, Prof. DH Jeong, and a delegation from the Korean Animal Welfare Association (KAWA) and Dyrenes Beskyttelse (Danish Animal Protection) held a meeting at Knuthenborg Safaripark in Denmark. At this meeting, technical, logistical, and welfare-related challenges were discussed regarding the potential rehoming of a group of 6 to 8 Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) from South Korea, once the ban on keeping bears in farms for their bile came into effect in 2026.

In November 2025, the same coalition—including representatives from Bears in Mind, Knuthenborg Safaripark, Dyrenes Beskyttelse, Prof. DH Jeong, and KAWA—convened again in Seoul to take concrete preparatory steps for the export of six bile bears. During this visit, the group conducted a joint visit to the largest bile bear farm in Dangjin, where nearly 100 bears were living in extremely poor conditions. The coalition also witnessed the rescue of two bears from another farm by the Korea National Park Service. These rescued animals were subsequently transferred to the government-managed rescue facility in Gurye.

Following these visits, the development of a new large bear enclosure in Denmark was significantly accelerated. Bears in Mind continued coordination with Danish partners regarding transport preparations and advice on facility construction, while Prof. DH Jeong and KAWA supported discussions on identifying suitable bears for rehoming. At the same time, preparations were underway with a specialized international air freight carrier to ensure safe and animal-friendly transport conditions.

Over many years, countless individuals and organizations have demonstrated their commitment to solving the issue of captive bears in Korea, and their work continues to this day. We sincerely appreciate their unwavering dedication and hope that all “bile bears” will soon be able to lead a more peaceful and comfortable life—and simply be bears again.

The Sun bear and the Asiatic black bear—both protected under CITES Appendix I and India’s Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972—are classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN. In India, limited data on their populations, habitat use, and threats hinder effective conservation, while habitat loss, fragmentation, and poaching intensify risks. Namdapha Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh presents a rare setting where these two bear species may coexist, yet their ecological interactions, spatial distributions, and niche overlaps remain poorly understood amid increasing forest degradation and human encroachment.

This project by the Amity Institute of Forestry and Wildlife aims to fill key knowledge gaps by examining niche overlap, spatial distribution, and habitat preferences of coexisting bear species in Namdapha. Using habitat suitability modeling, gap analysis of protected and reserve forests, and threat-zone identification, the study will combine field surveys—line transects, camera traps, and GPS-based presence records—to map current distributions, identify critical habitats, and assess conservation effectiveness.

A central component is community-based conservation through sensitization programs, village meetings, and workshops to raise awareness and reduce human–bear conflict. By integrating ecological research with participatory approaches, the project seeks to inform practical management plans and policy recommendations, supporting long-term habitat protection and the survival of bear species in the Namdapha landscape and across Northeast India.

All species of bears are threatened by illegal trade for their parts, used as trophies, for consumption and for use in traditional medicines. The experts at Monitor Conservation Research Society (Monitor) have carried out research and enforcement support to counter the illegal trade in bears, especially, but not limited to, Asia, over the past few decades. One of the greatest obstacles in countering the illegal international trade in bear parts and derivatives is the lack of effective use of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). With 185 members, CITES is the world’s leading convention in place to regulate and control the international trade in wildlife – including all eight species of bears. Conf. 10.8 (Rev. CoP14) in 2007, noted that

“the continued illegal trade in parts and derivatives of bear species undermines the effectiveness of the Convention and that if CITES Parties and States not-party do not take action to eliminate such trade, poaching may cause declines of wild bears that could lead to the extirpation of certain populations or even species”

and recognised that

“long-term solutions for the protection and conservation of bears require the adoption of substantive and measurable actions.” It further urged parties to carry out a number of actions and recommended that Parties “review and strengthen measures, where necessary, to enforce the provisions of the Convention relating to specimens of species included in Appendices I and II, where bear parts and derivatives are concerned and further that Parties and States not-party, as a matter of urgency, address the issue of illegal trade in bear parts and derivatives.”

Monitor has found that at least some Parties to the Convention involved in illegal and/or unsustainable trade in bear parts and derivatives have not taken significant actions to address this problem or to follow up on the recommendations of Conf. 10.8 (Rev. CoP14). There has been no systematic review of the actions taken by Parties on this matter and therefore no accountability. The team has secured funds from Bears in Mind to allow them, working with partners, to investigate this issue and to carry out a review of actions prior to the coming Conference of the Parties of CITES, which will be held in Uzbekistan in November 2025.

We believe that the effective implementation of Conf. 10.8 (Rev. CoP14), and the continued monitoring of progress on this issue is absolutely essential to making CITES an effective tool for bear conservation and that the lack of implementation not only undermines the Convention but also undermines efforts and opportunities to ensure international illegal and unsustainable trade is not a threat the conservation of bears.

Across the Western Himalayas, Himalayan Brown Bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) and Himalayan Black Bears (Ursus thibetanus), live in proximity with people. These people, many of whom are from various indigenous and tribal groups, are primarily either transhumant pastoralist (eg. the Bakerwals and Gaddis) or agriculturalist (primarily horticulturalists cultivating fruit like apples). This proximity of bears with people is increasingly being augmented by climate change which is altering cropping patterns and habitat loss. This is leading to increased negative human-bear interactions which include, but aren’t limited to, increased raiding of crops by bears and depredation of livestock. Most of which is met with retaliatory killing of bears. If the financial impacts of livelihood loss by bears isn’t adequately mitigated, the illegal retaliatory killing of bears can also lead to engagement in illegal trade of bear parts.

Besides this, direct poaching of bears for their gall bladder is a huge conservation challenge, but often under the shadow of welfare and bear-human conflict issues. All of these conservation threats to bears are spatially explicit, hence in collaboration with Dr. Hinsley, the team aims to identify spatially-explicit priorities for bear conservation across the Western Indian Himalayas.

Based on this baseline information, the team also aims to operationalize a local champions network in one region to actively work towards human-bear conservation interventions to ensure bear conservation while protecting people’s livelihoods.

Bears in Mind supports the project since 2024.

The Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) is widely distributed in countries such as Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. In Pakistan, researchers have recorded brown bear populations in 15 localities, with only the Deosai plateau and the Khujarab National park having an increasing population due to conservation efforts. However, other populations are thought to be declining. The Himalayan black bear (Ursus thibetanus) on the other hand, has a restricted distribution in the Himalayan range from Bhutan through Kashmir, Sikkim to Pakistan. In the past, it was present in all mountain areas of northern Pakistan but has faced a sharp decline in the last 40-50 years. There is limited information available about the species.

The study, carried out by a PhD student at the Malakand University and funded by Bears in Mind since 2024, aims to investigate the human-bear interactions, habitat preferences, occupancy patterns, density patterns of bears in the area, population structure, inbreeding, and migration patterns of the bears using genomics. The information generated from this study will be valuable for the conservation of these species and the development of effective management strategies to mitigate human-bear conflicts and conserve the species in their natural habitats.

The Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) is one of the iconic species in Pakistan, which occupies mountainous ecosystem of the Hindu Raj Mountain Range (HMR) and extirpated from the most of its historic range in Pakistan. The species population is continuously declining and the known distribution range of these bears is shrinking due to habitat loss and fragmentation. The species has faced local extirpations from several valleys in the region. Bears face threats like habitat loss and fragmentation due to the ever growing human population and infrastructure, poaching for trade in body parts, and competition with growing livestock numbers over limited food and poor range land management practices.

Extreme weather conditions, difficult terrain and political unrest make scientific exploration challenging in the habitat of these bears. This means information on the species existence is still either non-existent or anecdotal for a major part of the species range. Lack of information limits the provincial wildlife departments and conservation organizations for appropriate planning and management of the bear population.

This project by the Wildlife Ecology Lab at the University of Haripur, financially supported by Bears in Mind since 2024, aims to fill information gaps, spatiotemporal distribution pattern, population dynamics, negative interactions over livestock losses and crop damages and identification of key conservation areas. The modern data collection and analytical approaches will be adopted to build a scientific database of bears in HMR. Awareness session with communities and capacity building of wildlife staff will also be facilitated during the project activities.

Conservation efforts in Bangladesh have predominantly focused on large charismatic species in the Sundarbans, such as Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris). However, beyond the Sundarbans, the ecology, risk assessment, local perception and conflict management for species like the Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) and Sun bears (Helarctos malayanus) inhabiting the Chittagong Hill Tracts’ (CHT) primary and agro-mosaic forest landscape in the southeast of the country, has not been adequately recognized.

As the sympatric existence of Asiatic black bear and Sun bear has been documented from the CHT, there is no information on bear foraging ecology and coexistence to date. Anecdotal reports of human-bear conflicts suggest that loss and fragmentation of suitable forest habitat and reductions in food sources have increased the likelihood of human-bear conflicts as both species frequently encounter cultivated areas, often resulting in retaliatory killings. The lack of systematic studies and targeted conservation efforts for bears, coupled with the prevalent threats of habitat loss, retaliatory killing, and poaching, poses a significant risk of local extinction. Furthermore, the inadequate understanding of local communities’ attitudes toward bears exacerbates the challenges in implementing effective conservation strategies.

Thus, there is an urgent need for comprehensive research and conservation initiatives focused on bears in the CHT region to mitigate the threat of extinction and promote coexistence between bears and human communities.

The aim of the project is to increase our understanding of bear distribution and habitat utilization in a human-dominated landscape and engage the local communities to build a foundation for a longterm community-based bear conservation program in the region.

Bears in Mind financially supports this project since 2024. The CCA team has now confirmed sun bear presence within Matamuhuri Reserve Forest and the neighboring Sangu Reserve Forest, which retains relatively undisturbed primary forest. The Matamuhuri complex has suffered extensive habitat fragmentation due to shifting cultivation, settlement expansion, and logging—leaving behind only small, isolated forest patches.

Criminals use the Netherlands to operate a network of illegal trade in traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) that contain endangered animals and plants. This is shown in a joint project and investigation by Dutch foundations SPOTS, IUCN NL, Bears in Mind and internationally-known Earth League International (an authority on criminal networks behind illegal wildlife trade). The findings of their investigation is shocking.

IUCN NL, stichting SPOTS, Bears in Mind and Earth League International (ELI) initiated a project to establish whether there is a market in the Netherlands for TCM containing illegally used and traded (wild)
animal parts and, if so, how these (wild) animal parts are smuggled into the Netherlands. On behalf of these organizations ELI was commissioned to investigate this trade. The intelligence-led operations started in September 2021 and ended in December 2022 and aimed to compile and analyze information on the trafficking routes, the main destinations, modus operandi and the key drivers. These findings were shared with the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) in 2023. They started a follow-up investigation, several warehouse searches were done, seizures made and an arrest took place. The investigation is still ongoing.

*Inspectors from the NVWA search through a substantial quantity of TCM produce (c) NVWA*

According to the latest TRAFFIC report on seizures of CITES-listed wildlife in the EU in 2022, the most
frequently seized commodity type was medicinals (plant-and animal-derived medicinals which
comprises medicines, extracts and cosmetics); accounting for 1,058 seizure records (29% of the total
2022 seizures). Animal-derived medicinals in 2022 accounted for 17% of the medicinals trade. Trade
continued in medicinal products containing i.e. seahorse, venomous snakes, musk deer and sturgeon. But also bears Ursidae spp. (App. I,II/ Annex A,B). With 18% of the total seizures in CITES-listed wildlife in the EU, the Netherlands takes the second position after Germany (25%).

IUCN NL, stichting SPOTS, Bears in Mind and ELI also wish to raise awareness among politicians and the
wider public in the Netherlands about the issues and impact this trade of illegal TCM has on specific
species.

More details can be found in the full report here.

See the latest news about this project on the BEAR HOPE website! https://medvedinadeje.org/

Brief history
The famous Český Krumlov castle in the Czech Republic is a well-known UNESCO World Heritage site. One of its characterizing features can be noticed from the outside, as it is decorated with ostentatious coats of arms of the lords of the Rosenberg family, with the sign of the five-petalled rose against a silver background and bears as shield bearers. According to Rosenberg family legend, the Rosenbergs were related to the noble Italian family of Orsini. “Orsa” means bear in Italian, and it is this animal motif that the last rulers of Rosenberg in particular used to demonstrate their relationship with the house of Orsini. They used the motif in their coat of arms, which depicts two bears as shield bearers. This alleged relationship would endorse the antiquity of the House of Rosenberg and lead it to its roots in ancient Rome. The depiction of these bears gave birth to an ancient-old tradition of keeping bears at the castle.

*Bears Vilem and Polixena are being kept in the larger of the two moats of Český Krumlov castle.*

Bears from Český Krumlov
It is not known when the first bears were kept as so-called castle bears in former Bohemia (a former part of the Czech Republic). But it is known that the first bears were kept at Český Krumlov castle from the second half of the 16th century, dating back to the time of Wilhelm von Rosenberg. It is not known where the bears were housed in or near the castle at the time. It could not have been in the current moat, as it was not built until the beginning of the Thirty Years’ War, around 1620. The first records of keeping bears in the moat date from 1707, there were four of them. Bears were kept in the moat continuously from the 1730s to the 1790s, although no animal could be found in the first half of the 19th century. It was not until 1857 that Karl zu Schwarzenberg of the Orlík family obtained some bears from Transylvania (Romania) for Johann Adolf II zu Schwarzenberg. Besides the fact that bears were born in Český Krumlov castle, the number of animals was maintained by purchasing them from zoos, as well as by donations from famous aristocrats. From 1887 the moat remained uninhabited for 20 years. In 1907, Prince Sigmund Schonburg-Waldenburg zu Schwarzenberg presented two bears named Ruschi and Ajax to Český Krumlov, brought from the grounds of Kynžvart castle. The first bear lived until 1930, the other until 1935. After that, the moat has always been inhabited by bears, until present times.

*Oder female called Marie-Terezie is kept in the smaller part of the castle moat..*

Bear Alert notifications
In addition to bears in the moat of Český Krumlov, bears were and are also kept in moats at other castles. Over the years, Bears in Mind has received many reports via Bear Alert, usually by tourists visiting the castles. Around 2010, an attempt was made to draw attention to this phenomenon in the Czech Republic, but no solution was found. At present (2025) there are three brown bears in Český Krumlov and two brown bears at Točník castle. The so-called medvědárium in Zámecký park in Kladno has two brown bears. In addition, there is a brown bear in the medvědárium in the city park of Beroun.

*Asiatic black bear male called Jirka, kept in the moat of Konopiště castle until December 18, 2024.*

Since 2021, we have actively picked up again and started investigating the situation with the local Czech partner and our German colleagues from Foundation for Bears (Stiftung für Bären), how to gradually end this phenomenon and work towards better welfare for these bears.

We have had conversations with the local partner, with the castle managers and with the responsible person within the National Heritage Institute (NPU). This institute falls directly under the Ministry of Culture and is responsible for the management of Czech monuments and castles (and therefore also the bears!). We had a successful first meeting with Mr. Pešek, where we presented our organizations, presented and handed-over the petition, shared our views and proposed solutions (e.g. relocation of all bears to proper sanctuaries in Germany and The Netherlands). Local tradition is an important motivation in this, why there are still bears kept (legally) in this way, unlike the rest of Europe.

*FLTR: Rüdiger Schmiedel (St.f.B.), Eva Filipczyková (CZ project leader), Oldřich Pešek (Deputy Director General – NPU), Bernd Nonnenmacher (St.f.B.) and Koen Cuyten (Bears in Mind)*

In collaboration with the owners, the responsible institutions and authorities, we look into improving the lives of the bears. Important in this regard is, among other things, conducting sound research such as visitor interviews at the various castles, to gain insight into the opinion and motivation of visitors regarding the captive bears. Both local Czech visitors and international tourists. A thorough reseach project by a MSc student from the Czech University of Life Sciences (CZU) was done in the summer of 2024, funded by Bears in Mind.

UPDATES

On May 14^th 2024, an important meeting between the coalition took place. The goal was to get consensus on the plans above, officially sign a Memorandum of Understanding.

*Oldřich Pešek (Deputy Director General – NPU), Bernd Nonnenmacher (St.f.B.)* *and Ingrid Vermeulen (Bears in Mind)*

Thanks to our collaboration with the NPU and our joint effort, Asiatic black bear Jirka (which used to be kept at the Konopiště castle moat in an area of 266 m² – minimum legal requirement is 300 m²), was moved to Ostrava Zoo (CZ) on December 18, 2024. Ostrava Zoo has a forested enclosure for Asiatic black bears of approximately 1 ha, which contains, next to a natural forest, also a lake and many possibilities to hide. Jirka will be sharing this enclosure with an older male Asiatic black bear and a group of northern plains gray langurs (a type of monkey which lives in the bears’ natural environment). Jirka has already met the monkeys during his 30-day quarantine. Now Jirka’s quarantine is over and below is a video of Jirka’s first moments in the main large outside enclosure, where trees got his special attention. We believe that the professionality of Ostrava Zoo, together with the size and possibilities of Jirka’s enclosure, will benefit his mental and physical health significantly.

On January 23^rd 2025, bear Ludvik who lived at Náchod castle, was euthanized due to a severe illness. He was 33 years old. His female companion Dáša died two years ago. There are no more bears at Náchod.

Bear bile farming comes to an end in South Korea

Bear specie: Asiatic black bear

UPDATES

Read more about the project and latest news on the project website here: https://medvedinadeje.org/