Well it is good to see the black bears are doing well on Mt. Jiri:

An Asiatic black bear in Mt. Jiri National Park demonstrated a new way of hibernating by digging a homemade cave in the ground. The discovery of this ingenious feat has heightened hopes of the species’ first successful breeding in the wild.

The Korea National Park Service said on Sunday, “Sixteen Asiatic black bears loose in Mt. Jiri began hibernating recently, as the cold weather has made it difficult for them to find food. One of the female bears — a four-year-old that came from the Maritime Province of Siberia in 2005 — is hibernating in a cave that she dug out herself.”

It is the first time that an Asiatic black bear has been seen digging its own hibernation cave since the bears were released in Mt. Jiri in 2004. Until now, the bears have used natural shelters, such as holes in old trees or existing stone caves, for hibernation.

Some say this female bear may produce a cub this spring. She was seen with a five-year-old male bear from Mt. Bukhan in June and July last year, occupying a similar path for three to five days at a time. If mating was successful, it would be the first time for an Asiatic black bear in Mt. Jiri.  [Chosun Ilbo]

There was originally supposed to be 50 bears imported from Russia in the park now, but poachers have been targeting the bears for their gall bladders:

Today in Korea there are only known to be 10 Moon Bears in the wild. These are at Jiri Mountain and are part of a government programme attempting to slow the decline of wild Moon Bears. Unfortunately even these bears are being targeted by poachers as some consumers believe that a whole gall bladder from a wild bear is more potent than bile obtained from farmed bears.

In contrast to the low numbers of bears in the wild, there are currently 1,600 bears held in 110 Korean bear farms. Bear farming in Korea grew during the 1980′s in response to the dwindling supply of bear parts obtained from bears hunted in the wild. Since then, the Korean government has struggled to balance the interests of Korean bear farmers with international pressures for environmental conservation.

I hadn’t realized before that there was bear farms in Korea, but it appears to still be a very profitable industry.  Let’s hope they leave the few remaining bears on Mt. Jiri alone.