On July 27th last year (2019), a solitary female bear cub appeared in Guangyuan Village in Haiduan Township, Taitung County. After discovering the cub, villagers reported it to the Taitung Forest District Office of the Forestry Bureau, which took the cub into its care. Later on, the cub was named "Mulas" by the tribal community in a Bunun ceremony. Ten months later, Mulas was transported by helicopter and returned successfully to the Central Mountain Range yesterday (May 16th). Signals from the satellite transmitter tagged on her also indicated that she has been active.
Mulas weighed only 3.9 kg and was still a suckling when she was first taken in for care. At the time, she would not have survived alone. In addition, due to the lack of guidance from the mother bear, wild rehabilitation training needed to be implemented in stages to increase the cub's adaptability to the natural environment. In the subsequent training, Mulas lived in the semi-open Wildlife Rehabilitation Ground, where she became familiar with the natural environment. She learned to eat various plants and fruits, learned to hunt wild animals, and exhibited the behavior of nesting in trees. Before her release into the wild, Mulas had grown to 42 kg and was about a year old. She had undergone four health checks during the care period, was in good condition, and had been assessed to be of suitable age and size to live independently. The Taitung Forest District Office had been surveying suitable areas for her release into the wild since the beginning of this year. In order to gain a better understanding of the environment and biological resources of the release site, staff were dispatched for onsite investigation several times to confirm the suitability of the location.
The day before yesterday's release into the wild, staff were dispatched in advance for ground preparation work. On the day of the release, Si Xun-mei, elder of the local Tuapuu tribe, and the tribesmen who had found Mulas at the time, were invited to pray and give their blessings to the bear cub. Mulas took off at 7:10 a.m. on a chartered helicopter with the blessings of the tribesmen and the staff of the Taitung Forest District Office, and was escorted by two veterinarians. Upon arriving at the release site, the staff let Mulas stay in the cage for over an hour, allowing her to observe the forest that would be her new home. When the cage door was opened, Mulas slowly stepped out, looked around to check out the surroundings, and moved forward slowly. She then ran at a slightly faster pace towards the forest.
The cub is tagged with an expandable satellite transmitter collar that has been set up to automatically detach after one year. The transmitter will send location data on a regular basis, and the Taitung Forest District Office is planning at least six months of monitoring and tracking in the hopes that it will help them understand the activities of Mulas after her release into the wild. The Taitung Forest District Office received the first transmission from Mulas' transmitter this morning (May 17th), which indicated that Mulas had already moved 1.2 km south. The information gave the team some reassurance that she is going to be fine.
From the rescue of the bear cub to her care and release into the wild, the Taitung Forest District Office would like to thank all the organizations and individuals who assisted in the process. In addition to the full support of the Forestry Bureau, assistance was also provided by the Taipei Zoo, Endemic Species Research Institute (ESRI), Institute of Wildlife Conservation of the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Hualien Forest District Office, and the Taiwan Black Bear Conservation Association, as well as various wildlife researchers and experts. In particular, special thanks go to the team from the WildOne Wildlife Conservation Association, who were entrusted with the care of Mulas, for their dedication and hard work, as well as to the local tribesmen for their notification and support. In addition, the National Airborne Service Corps under the Ministry of the Interior, Daily Air, and the Civil Aeronautics Administration also lent their full assistance in yesterday's release and site preparation.
The Taitung Forest District Office will continue to work with the Guangyuan Community Patrol in order to safeguard and protect the habitats of Formosan black bears together with the local tribal communities. The Taitung Forest District Office also urges the public to immediately report any wild animals in need of rescue to the local county or city government (dial "1999") or the Forestry Bureau's 24-hour hotline (0800-000-930). Please remember, nature is wildlife's home, so "if you love them, please don't disturb them."
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