CONCERNS OVER ASIAN BLACK BEARS

[Anchor Lead]

The Asian black bear restoration project that started in 2004 has now brought up the number of bears on Jirisan Mountain to more than 70. But the problem is that the black bears frequently show up in the villages around the mountain, causing concern over of the safety of villagers.

[Pkg]

​A small village at the foot of Jirisan Mountain. A black creature that was among the bushes slowly crosses the path to the other side. A villager standing just 10 meters away is relieved to see the animal disappear.

[Soundbite] Jeong Yong-ju(Geochang Resident) : "The dog was barking so much that I looked up to see a bear about 15 steps away. It appeared to be 1.3 meters tall and it was quite big."

The following day, at a home 400 meters away, a clay pot was broken and the plum sauce inside it was gone.

[Soundbite] Jeong Chang-heon(Geochang Resident) : "The pot was broken and I saw bear claw marks. There were several urns but the bear ate only that one."

Since the black bear restoration project began in 2004, the number of Asian black bears on Jirisan Mountain has grown to 74. More bears come down from the mountain in search of food, boosting the number of bear sightings from just one in 2019 to four in 2020 and five this year. Authorities are trying to contain the bears’ range of activity by attaching GPS devices on them.

[Soundbite] Jang Jeong-jae(Director, Korea Nat’l Park Service) : "When bears approach a village, messages will be sent immediately to local government officers or residents to prepare for possible accidents."

But the GPS attachment rate stands in the 30% range and the electric fences put up in areas prone to bear sightings have limited effect. The Korea National Park Service projects that 78 is the optimal number of Asian black bears on Jirisan Mountain. Given that the bear’s average life span is about 20 years, the number of Asian black bears is expected to soon exceed 100. This is prompting authorities to come up with safety measures for nearby residents.