BEARS - Ursidae
Asiatic Black Bear
Selenarctos thibetanus

• Distribution

In Vietnam mainly in the north like Lai Chau, Son La, tay Nguyen and Nghe An.
In the world mainly Nepal, Myanmar, China, Korea, Thailand, Lao, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Japan and Eastern Russia.

• Habitat

Tha Asiatic Black Bear inhabits forested uplands and mixed forest.

• Behaviour

The Asiatic Black Bear lives solitary and it will only pair up in the breeding season. The bear is nocturnal and during the day they sleep in a tree or a cave in a mountain. Asiatic Black Bears are very good climbers, but most of the time they stay and live on the ground.
In the wild the Asiatic Black Bear eats fruit, insects, all kind of vegetables and sometime small mammals. In Hanoi Zoo they are fed fruit, all kind of chestnuts, buds, eggs, rice and sometimes small birds.
The Asiatic Black Bear reaches its sexual maturity at an age of five years and the female gives birth to two cubs after a pregnancy of 7 to 8 months. The average lifetime of this bear is around 30 years.
The Asiatic Black Bear has a coat of smooth black fur except for the distinct “V” shape of white fur on the chest.
In Hanoi Zoo there are ten Asiatic Black Bears, nine of them are confiscated in Lai Chau province.

Hanoi Zoo