Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that answer the question.
Query: Are Asian black bears endangered?
Five black bear populations, occurring in Kyushu, Shikoku, West-Chugoku, East-Chugoku and Kii areas, were listed as endangered by the Environmental Agency in the Japanese Red Data Book in 1991. Small isolated populations in the Tanzawa and Shimokita areas of mainland Honshū were listed as endangered in 1995. Beyond recognising these populations as endangered, there is still a lack of efficient conservation methods for Japanese black bears.[15]
The Japanese black bear ("Ursus thibetanus japonicus") is a subspecies of the Asian black bear that lives on three main islands of Japan: Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. There are said to be 10,000 black bears on Japan. The population of black bears on Shikoku and Kyushu may be endangered or extinct. There is a high price on bear parts in the black market, which threatens all bear populations in Japan. This particular species of bear are typically smaller with males only reaching and females only weighing about . Their body length is about long.
The wildlife sanctuary was once covered with luxuriant multi-storied evergreen forest. The Asian elephant herds used to roam in and around the sanctuary. However, due to settlement of refuge, the vegetation of these areas diminished and became uninhabitable for elephants, which now can be seen in Sangu Mouza only. Asian black bear is the most common bear species in the area but still low numbered. Second bear species of the area is Sun bear Other large mammal sambar deer are also been reported here but in lower numbers. Just recent camera trap project captured some clouded leopard photos. Endangered species great hornbill are still seen flying in the sanctuary. There are some spotted owlet as well.
The Ussuri black bear ("Ursus thibetanus ussuricus"), also known as the Manchurian black bear, is a large subspecies of the Asian black bear native to the Far East, including the Korean Peninsula.
A recent study found genetic evidence of multiple instances and species combinations where genetic material has passed the species boundary in bears (a process called introgression by geneticists). Specifically, species with evidence of past intermingling were (1) brown bear and American black bear, (2) brown bear and polar bear, (3) American black bear and Asian black bear, (4) bears currently distributed in Asia (sloth bear, sun bear and Asian black bear). Overall, this study shows that evolution in the bear family (Ursidae) has not been strictly bifurcating, but instead showed complex evolutionary relationships.
The species is morphologically very similar to some prehistoric bears, and is thought by some scientists to be the ancestor of other extant bear species (aside from pandas and spectacled bears).[2] Although largely herbivorous, Asian black bears can be very aggressive toward humans, who frequently trap or kill them for traditional medicine.[4]
Along with sun bears, Asiatic black bears are the most typically used species in areas where bears are either used in performances or as pets.[67] Asian black bears have an outstanding learning ability in captivity, and are among the most common species used in circus acts.[68] According to Gary Brown:
As of 2001, 20 of Iran's mammal species and 14 bird species are endangered. Among them are the Baluchistan bear (Ursus thibetanus gedrosianus), a subspecies of Asian black bear, Persian fallow deer, Siberian crane, hawksbill turtle, green turtle, Oxus cobra, Latifi's viper, dugong and dolphins. The Asiatic cheetah is a critically endangered species which is extinct elsewhere and now can only be found in central to northeastern parts of Iran.
Although mostly herbivorous, the jaw structure of Asiatic black bears is not as specialized for plant eating as that of pandas: Asian black bears have much narrower zygomatic arches, and the weight ratio of the two pterygoid muscles is also much smaller in Asian black bears. The lateral slips of the temporal muscles are thicker and stronger in black bears.[7]
The Asiatic black bear's range overlaps with that of sloth bears in central and southern India, sun bears in Southeast Asia and brown bears in the southern part of the Russian Far East.[37] Ussuri brown bears may attack black bears,[28] though Himalayan brown bears seem to be intimidated by the black species in direct encounters.[38] They will eat the fruit dropped by black bears from trees, as they themselves are too large and cumbersome to climb.[38][39]
As of 1993, known Mexican black bear populations existed in four areas, though knowledge on the distribution of populations outside those areas has not been updated since 1959. Mexico is the only country where the American black bear is classified as "endangered".
Several endangered animal and plant species now exist among the heavily fortified fences, landmines and listening posts. These include the endangered red-crowned crane (a staple of Asian art), the white-naped crane, and, potentially, the extremely rare Siberian tiger, Amur leopard, and Asiatic black bear. Ecologists have identified some 2,900 plant species, 70 types of mammals and 320 kinds of birds within the narrow buffer zone. Additional surveys are now being conducted throughout the region.
Although black bears have been afforded protection in Russia since 1983, illegal poaching, fuelled by a growing demand for bear parts in the Asian market, is still a major threat to the Russian population. Many workers of Chinese and Korean origin, supposedly employed in the timber industry, are actually involved in the illegal trade. Some Russian sailors reportedly purchase bear parts from local hunters to sell them to Japanese and Southeast Asian clients. Russia's rapidly growing timber industry has been a serious threat to the Asiatic black bear's home range for three decades. The cutting of trees containing cavities deprives black bears of their main source of dens, and forces them to den on the ground or in rocks, thus making them more vulnerable to tigers, brown bears and hunters.[15]
At high altitudes, the elusive and previously endangered snow leopard is the main predator. Its prey includes members of the goat family grazing on the alpine pastures and living on the rocky terrain, notably the endemic bharal or Himalayan blue sheep. The Himalayan musk deer is also found at high altitude. Hunted for its musk, it is now rare and endangered. Other endemic or near endemic herbivores include the Himalayan tahr, the takin, the Himalayan serow, and the Himalayan goral. The critically endangered Himalayan subspecies of the brown bear is found sporadically across the range as is the Asian black bear. In the mountainous mixed deciduous and conifer forests of the eastern Himalayas, Red panda feed in the dense understories of bamboo. Lower down the forests of the foothills are inhabited by several different primates, including the endangered Gee's golden langur and the Kashmir gray langur, with highly restricted ranges in the east and west of the Himalayas respectively.
The ancestors of American black bears and Asian black bears diverged from sun bears 4.58 mya. The American black bear then split from the Asian black bear 4.08 mya. The earliest American black bear fossils, which were located in Port Kennedy, Pennsylvania, greatly resemble the Asian species, though later specimens grew to sizes comparable to grizzly bears. From the Holocene to the present, American black bears seem to have shrunk in size, but this has been disputed because of problems with dating these fossil specimens.
The park consists mainly of mountains and hills, with elevations ranging between 336 and 2257 metres. The area is the source of many rivers. It is named after the Nam Et River and Phou Louey Mountain ('Forever Mountain'). The area has a high level of biodiversity and endangered species including tiger, leopard, clouded leopard, Asian golden cat, marbled cat, civet, gaur, Sambar deer, white-cheeked gibbon, sun bear, black bear, Asian elephant, dhole, hornbill and three species of otter. 
While the brown bear's range has shrunk and it has faced local extinctions, it remains listed as a least concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with a total population of approximately 200,000. , this and the American black bear are the only bear species not classified as threatened by the IUCN. However, the California, North African and Mexican subspecies were hunted to extinction in the 19th and early 20th centuries and many of the southern Asian subspecies are highly endangered. One of the smaller-bodied subspecies, the Himalayan brown bear, is critically endangered, occupying only 2% of its former range and threatened by uncontrolled poaching for its body parts. The Marsican brown bear, one of several currently isolated populations of the main Eurasian brown bear population in central Italy, is believed to have a population of just 30 to 40 bears.
The Baluchistan black bear ("Ursus thibetanus gedrosianus"), also called the Pakistan black bear is a subspecies of the Asian black bear occurring in the Baluchistan Mountains of southern Pakistan and Iran. It has an unusually thin coat for an Asian black bear, but this is because it is found in a warmer climate than most of the other subspecies, which are found in the much colder Himalayan Mountains. It is also more frugivorous than the other subspecies, and it loves to eat figs and bananas.
While the brown bear's range has shrunk and it has faced local extinctions, it remains listed as a least concern species by the IUCN, with a total population of approximately 200,000. , this and the American black bear are the only bear species not classified as threatened by the IUCN. However, the California, North African and Mexican subspecies, as well as brown bear populations in the Pacific Northwest, were hunted to extinction in the 19th and early 20th centuries and many of the southern Asian subspecies are highly endangered. The Syrian brown bear ("Ursus arctos syriacus") is very rare and it has been extirpated from more than half of its historic range. One of the smallest-bodied subspecies, the Himalayan brown bear ("Ursus arctos isabellinus"), is critically endangered, occupying only 2% of its former range and threatened by uncontrolled poaching for its body parts. The Marsican brown bear in central Italy is believed to have a population of just 30-40 bears.
The Vietnamese Government issued Decision 276/QD, 276/1989, which prohibits the hunting and exporting of black bears. The Red Book of Vietnam lists Vietnamese black bears as endangered.[15]
In response to a chapter on black bears written by Robert Armitage Sterndale in his Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon on how black bears were no more dangerous than other animals in India, a reader responded with a letter to The Asian on May 11, 1880:[52]
Poaching for gall bladders and skin are the main threat faced by black bears in India.[15] In Pakistan it is listed as an endangered species.
The area has a high level of biodiversity, and a number of endangered species including tiger, leopard, clouded leopard, Asian golden cat, marbled cat, civet, gaur, Sambar deer, white-cheeked gibbon, sun bear, black bear, Asian elephant, dhole, hornbill and three species of otter.
Brown bears usually dominate other bear species in areas where they coexist. Due to their smaller size, American black bears are at a competitive disadvantage to brown bears in open, unforested areas. Although displacement of American black bears by brown bears has been documented, actual interspecific killing of American black bears by brown bears has only occasionally been reported. Confrontation is mostly avoided due to the American black bear's diurnal habits and preference for heavily forested areas, as opposed to the brown bear's largely nocturnal habits and preference for open spaces. Where they do not live in close proximity to grizzly bears, and especially where found near human habitations, American black bears may become, to a larger extent, nocturnal. Brown bears may also kill Asian black bears, though the latter species probably largely avoids conflicts with the brown bear due to similar habits and habitat preferences to the American black species. Brown bears will eat the fruit dropped from trees by the Asian black bear, as they themselves are too large and cumbersome to climb. Improbably, in the Himalayas, brown bears are reportedly intimidated by Asian black bears in confrontations. However, the Himalayan black bears are reportedly more aggressive towards humans than the Himalayan brown bear, and the latter is one of the smaller types of brown bear, though still somewhat larger than the Asian black bear. In Siberia, the opposite is true, and Asian black bears are not known to attack people, but brown bears are. Both species of black bear seem to be most vulnerable to predatory attacks by brown bears when the latter species leaves hibernation sooner in early spring and ambushes the smaller ursids in their dens.
Balkasar Bear Sanctuary, established in 2010 by Adnan Haider of WSPA (now known as World Animal Protection), is an animal sanctuary in Balkassar, Chakwal District, Punjab, Pakistan. The sanctuary provides a retirement and rehabilitation home, and veterinary care for rescued bears from bear-baiting events. It houses the endangered species of Asian black bears and Himalayan brown bears. Balkasar Bear Sanctuary also has ornithology and herpetology research stations.