The Ministry of Environment (ME) and Korea National Park Service announced that two Asiatic black bears released in Jirisan were confirmed to give birth to five cubs including triplets.
A mother bear that gave birth to the triplets was RF-23 hibernating in a cave. KNPS confirmed the birth of triplets with their cry and photos taken by a camera trap due to difficulty in accessing the birth den.
Another bear, a mother of two cubs, was KF-27 who was hibernating in a bear nest made with leaves and grass. It gave birth to two healthy male cubs.
※ Name of Asiatic black bear: K=born in Korea, R= born in Russia, C=born in China, F=female, M=male
Another bear, a mother of two cubs, was KF-27 who was hibernating in a bear nest made with leaves and grass. It gave birth to two healthy male cubs.
It is the first time the triplets were born in wild since the Asiatic Black Bear Restoration Project began in earnest in 2004. The two mother bears were introduced from Russia and Seoul Grand Park respectively in 2007 and both gave birth to cubs in 2014.
This is the second delivery of RF-23, the mother of triplets, and the third delivery of KF-27 brought from Seoul Grand Park. Ten out of 13 bears of childbearing age gave birth to their cubs. Among them, KF-27, RF-21 and RF-25 had their delivery more than three times.
With the birth of new cubs, a total of 44 Asiatic black bears are living in Jirisan National Park. KNPS deemed a rising rebirth rate of same individuals and the birth of two or more cubs show that Asiatic black bears that were released to the wild Jirisan National Park adapt well to the natural environment.
In particular, the birth of triplets in wild implies that the ecosystem of Jirisan National Park with abundant food and safety offers a suitable habitat to bears.
“Since the first natural birth of Asiatic black bear in 2009, 30 bears were born in nature,” said Song Dongjoo, president of KNPS Species Restoration Technology Institute. “We will continue carrying out the restoration project in a more scientific and systematic manner by expanding the number of individuals and promoting artificial reproduction for genetic variety.” He added.