Asian Black Bear has wide distribution in the higher elevations of N and NE india, and other southeast Asia. Out of 7 subspecies, 'Himalayan' Black Bear (U. t. laniger), 'Indochinese' Black Bear (U. t. mupinensis), and 'Tibetan' Black Bear U. t. thibetanus are distributed within the Indian boundaries of its global distribution. Himalayan subspecies is found in Kashmir, Himalayas and Sikkim; Indochinese subspecies is distributed in Himalayas along the China border and Tibetan subspecies is found in Nepal and Assam. It prefers dry forests. deciduous forests, and mixed forests in the high elevations. It is a omnivorous species that feeds on insects, plant material, fungi, fruits, and may also scavenge. Tiger, leopard and wolves may hunt small cubs.


Conservation Status:

This species is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).


According to IUCN Red List assessment, population of this species is decrasing all over its range. It was once widely distributed in Eurasia, but now present as a fragmented population. There are between 5000 and 7000 mature individuals in India. Threat to its survival mainly come from habitat loss, fragmentation, retaliatory killing, poaching for gall bladder and skin.