The Dongshih Forest District Office and the Endemic Species Research Institute (ESRI) rescued a Formosan black bear that had been mistakenly caught in a trap on Mt. Tungmao on October 1. After two months of intensive care and treatment, a health examination was conducted once again on the bear last week. The veterinarians at the ESRI confirmed that the bear's wounds had healed and it was healthy and active; it was released back into the wild on the same day. The Formosan black bear on Mt. Tungmao had been mistakenly caught in a boar trap at Mid-Autumn Festival this year. In addition to the original missing toe wound on its left forepaw, there were also new wounds to the paw and oral cavity caused by the bear's attempt to break free from the trap. After intensive care and treatment at ESRI, it was moved to a large semi-outdoor bear den for mobility observation on November 3. The care team scattered wild fruits around the cage to observe its foraging and climbing abilities. After a month of intensive observation, it was found that the bear was gradually regaining its mobility and was able to climb up and down the metal cage, hammocks, and perches on its own, and was even observed walking steadily across a log bridge in the dark late at night. The care team was amazed at its rate of recovery. Otherwise, the bear was still very wary of people when in its cage—it would go on alert and actively avoid people when the personnel were moving about around 30 meters away; most of the time it was active at night. Evaluation showed that dependency had not developed as a result of prolonged care. Last week, veterinarians conducted another health check and found that the bear weighed 88.5 kg, an increase of about 5 kg from the time of its rescue, and that the paw wounds were healing better than the veterinarians expected. The bear was confirmed as ready for release into the wild. After the bear's transmitter was reattached, it was immediately transported to a suitable location for wild release together by the Dongshih Forest District Office, ESRI, the Dongshih Branch of the National Parks Police Corps, and the research team of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST). During the wild release, the Dongshih Forest District Office used high-decibel sounds and non-lethal paintball guns to carry out negative reinforcement conditioning, in the hopes of teaching the bear to stay away from people as much as possible in the future. Before the release, the Dongshih Forest District Office also prayed with apples and pears to symbolize "leaving safely and returning to nature." During the wild release, the Mt. Tungmao black bear ran away safely into the mountains, just as everyone had wished, allowing the wild release staff to breathe a sigh of happy relief. The primary forest of the nearby national park was selected, after discussion with experts, as the wild release site for the Mt. Tungmao black bear. This location was also the bear's main activity area in the winter for the past two years, with sufficient food sources and far away from areas of human activity. In addition, the Dongshih Forest District Office once again attached a new satellite transmitter to track the bear's whereabouts, and the latest "electronic fencing" technology had also been set up. In the future, an instant notification will be sent to the Dongshih Forest District Office when the bear approaches a tribal community or orchard, so that the District Office can respond immediately to the situation and reduce the occurrence of human-bear conflicts. The Dongshih Forest District Office would like to once again remind the public not to panic if they see any signs of bear activity, as the mountainous regions of Central Taiwan have always been habitats for the Formosan black bear. Most of the time bears will automatically avoid areas where there is frequent human activity. If members of the public see any signs of Formosan black bear activity, please dial 1999 and report it to the Dongshih Forest District Office or to the government. In the event of suspected crop damage by Formosan black bears, please do not set traps on your own; instead, report it to the local county or city government or Forest District Office to assist you with prevention and control. Please also make good use of electric fences and improved traps to accurately prevent wildlife hazards, in order to reduce harm caused to the animals and inadvertent capture of endangered wildlife.
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