Jirisan bears give birth.

(Photo from here) A very interesting development on Jirisan in southern South Korea:

Two female Manchurian black bears gave birth to cubs in the wild around Mt. Jiri in January after being released from captivity in 2005, the Ministry of Environment said, Monday.

The discovery represents the first time the bears have reproduced in the wild without the need for medical assistance, the government said.

Manchurian black bears, also known as moon bears, were reintroduced to Jirisan starting in 2004, and for a couple years they weren't doing very well. For another perspective visit MoonBears.org for information about bear farming in Korea and the plight of these newly-wild animals on Jirisan. Their latest news item, from two months ago, is an open letter to President Lee Myung-bak voicing opposition to a plan to legalize the sale of bear meat for food.

Since bears are designated as endangered animals here, their slaughter is strictly prohibited. Breeders are allowed to kill the animal only when it reaches the age 10 and then take out only the gall bladder.

The association [for bear breeders] claimed that the regulation has made their lives more difficult as it costs about 800,000 won a year to feed a bear, meaning 10 million won is needed to breed a bear until its reaches the age of 10.

``Moreover, the price of gall bladders has fallen to between three and 10 million won these days, due to the inflow of cheap Chinese products,'' Kim Mu-eung, an association spokesman said.

Kim urged the government to permit the use of bear meat for food. ``Bears' paws are considered a delicacy in Chinese cuisine and we need such measures not to discourage farmers from breeding the animal,'' he said.

More information about bears in Korea from Brian in Gangwon-do.