Rare black bear seen in no-go zone between North and South Korea

Find shows ecological value of demilitarised zone after decades cut off from humans

Daniel Hurst in Tokyo

Fri 10 May 2019 14.27 BSTLast modified on Fri 10 May 2019 18.20 BST

When an unmanned camera captured movement inside the demilitarised zone (DMZ) that separates North and South Korea, it wasn’t a sign of troops on the march. Instead, photographs released this week show a rare black bear clambering on rocks next to a peaceful stream.

The animal has been identified as an Asiatic black bear, a species that is native to parts of Asia including the Korean peninsula and is classified as “vulnerable” on the Red List of Threatened Species compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Experts say the discovery underlines the ecological importance of a region that is largely cut off from human observation because of landmines and long-running tensions between the two Koreas.

In South Korea, the Asiatic black bear was nearly eradicated before the government launched a recovery programme 15 years ago. The number of these bears in South Korea has increased from five in 2001 to 61 now, according to figures cited by the Yonhap news agency.

Information about the status of threatened species within the DMZ, however, is harder to collect.

“The ecological value of the Korean DMZ has been documented for several decades as many scientists in Korea and from around the world have researched the region,” explains Seung-ho Lee, the president of the DMZ Forum, a group that campaigns to protect the area’s ecosystem.

Read on

First Brain Surgery Performed on Bear

Michelle Nijhuis

for National Geographic News

Published April 11, 2013

In the mountains of northern Laos, a three-year-old Asiatic black bear has become a medical pioneer: the world's first bear to undergo brain surgery.

The bear, named Champa, has lived most of her life at a sanctuary run by Free the Bears, an Australian nonprofit group. About 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of the city of Luang Prabang, the sanctuary protects bears that Lao officials have rescued from wildlife traffickers. The Asiatic black bear, or moon bear, whose bile is considered a valuable ingredient in traditional Chinese and Korean medicine, is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Rescued as a cub, Champa stood out from the start: She had a protruding forehead and had trouble socializing with the other bears at the sanctuary. Over time, her growth slowed, her behavior became more erratic, and her vision faded.

Sanctuary staff and veterinarians suspected hydrocephalus, or "water on the brain," a disease that strikes humans as well as animals. It's most commonly caused by the blockage or overproduction of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain's cavities.

In most Western countries, a wild animal with hydrocephalus would likely be euthanized. "Having hydrocephalus is like having an absolutely mind-blowing, constant migraine," said veterinarian Romain Pizzi. But because of the strong Buddhist tradition in Laos and the technicalities of its wildlife protection laws, euthanasia was not an option.

So Free the Bears called on Pizzi, a South African veterinary surgeon who works in Scotland at the Edinburgh Zoo and also at a national wildlife rescue center. Pizzi uses a technique called "keyhole," or laparoscopic surgery, in which surgery is performed through a small incision and with the help of a camera.

Continued: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/04/130411-bear-brain-surgery-laos-wildlife-trafficking/