Asiatic black bear

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Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) with a distinctive pale chest marking sits among green plants in a forest clearing.

World map showing the geographic ranges of the eight bear species, each marked in a different color. The American black bear is found across much of North America, the polar bear in Arctic regions, the brown bear across northern North America, Europe, and Asia, and the spectacled bear in a small area of northwestern South America. In Asia, the Asiatic black bear, sloth bear, sun bear, and giant panda have distinct, mostly non-overlapping ranges in the eastern and southern parts of the continent.

An illustration of an Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) sitting upright, showing its dark fur and distinctive white chest marking, with a scale bar indicating 30 centimeters or 12 inches for size reference.

Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) standing on green vegetation in a forest, with dark fur and a lighter patch on its chest.

Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus)

Explore the effects of human activity on black bear and ferret populations in Asia and North America

Asiatic black bear: Media

mammal

Videos

Explore the effects of human activity on black bear and ferret populations in Asia and North America

Explore the effects of human activity on black bear and ferret populations in Asia and North America

Learn how human activity has caused some animal populations—such as those of black...

Video: © MinuteEarth (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Images

Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) with a distinctive pale chest marking sits among green plants in a forest clearing.

Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus)

The Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) is omnivorous, eating insects, fruit, nuts,...

© byrdyak/stock.adobe.com

World map showing the geographic ranges of the eight bear species, each marked in a different color. The American black bear is found across much of North America, the polar bear in Arctic regions, the brown bear across northern North America, Europe, and Asia, and the spectacled bear in a small area of northwestern South America. In Asia, the Asiatic black bear, sloth bear, sun bear, and giant panda have distinct, mostly non-overlapping ranges in the eastern and southern parts of the continent.

Geographic ranges of living species of bears

Geographic ranges of the eight living species of bears.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Kenny Chmielewski

An illustration of an Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) sitting upright, showing its dark fur and distinctive white chest marking, with a scale bar indicating 30 centimeters or 12 inches for size reference.

Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus)

The range of the Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) extends from southern...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) standing on green vegetation in a forest, with dark fur and a lighter patch on its chest.

Japanese black bear (Ursus thibetanus japonicus)

Japanese black bears (Ursus thibetanus japonicus) are hunted for food as...

© Volodymyr Byrdyak/Dreamstime.com

Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus)

Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus)

There are likely fewer than 60,000 Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus)...

© Arun Roisri—Moment/Getty Images

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