Overall, the brown bear is one of the most widespread bear species in the world, found in much of Eurasia and North America, in quite large numbers. A subspecies called the Himalayan brown bear is not so fortunate. It occupies higher reaches of the Himalayas in remote, mountainous areas of Pakistan, Nepal, Tibet and India. Its populations are small and isolated, and it is extremely rare in many parts of its range.
The Himalayan brown bear is one of the most ancient brown bear lineages. It’s a very large animal, with a big head, small eyes and stocky limbs. It is believed by some that the bear’s ability to walk upright probably gave rise to the legend of the Yeti or “Abominable Snowman.” People from the area call the brown bear “spang drenmo” (“spang” means grass and “drenmo” means bear), literally meaning “vegetarian bear.” The Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus), on the other hand, is called “shai drenmo” (“shai” means meat), or non-vegetarian bear.
Although locals call it a vegetarian, the Himalayan brown bear is actually an omnivore. They are found above the timberline, between 3,000 and 5,500 meters (9,800 and 18,000 feet) above sea level. The bear depends on the sparse herbaceous vegetation in the area, supplemented by occasional small mammals like the Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana) in Nepal and the golden marmot (Marmota caudata) in Pakistan. Interestingly, the bears on the Tibetan plateau are primarily carnivorous, feeding mainly on the plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae).
In India, not much is known about the Himalayan brown bear. A questionnaire survey among forest officials in 2006 conducted by Sambandam Sathyakumar from the Wildlife Institute of India put the number at 500 to 750, spread among 23 protected areas and 18 other localities in the northern states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Their potential habitat range in India is estimated at 4,300 square kilometers (about 1,660 square miles), of which very little is protected.
Filmed and Shared by Jean Scheurer and Prem Chand
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Himalayan Bear Spotted in Parvati Valley, Himachal | |
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| Travel & Events | Upload TimePublished on 15 Oct 2017 |
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