At 6:20 a.m. on Sunday, local hiker Lee Gi-su was hiking on Mount Jiri when he spotted a huge figure perched on a tall tree. It was an endangered wild Asiatic black bear.
“I heard a noise in the forest and went to check, and there was a bear," Lee said. “It was quietly going about its business, so I turned on my camera and started filming.
“I guess it had finished whatever it was doing because it started climbing down. That startled me, so I ran uphill.”
Sightings of Asiatic black bears, which are being reintroduced to Jirisan National Park, have become increasingly frequent near hiking trails and on roads. On Sunday, the aforementioned bear was spotted climbing a tree along the trail section between the park's Hwagaejae Pass and Tokki Peak.
On Monday, a mother bear and her cub appeared on a road in Hamyang County, South Gyeongsang. After receiving a report from a resident, the National Park Institute for Wildlife Conservation sent text message warnings to 1,638 people in the surrounding area. The mother and cub remained near the road for several hours before disappearing into the mountains.
The increase in sightings comes as bears become more active in their search for food in the fall.
“Fall is when bears put on weight, so they become so focused on finding food that they pay less attention to their surroundings,” said Lee Sa-hyun, head of the habitat conservation department at the wildlife conservation institute. “They are excellent climbers, so they climb trees, break branches to eat acorns or gather branches together like a nest to rest.”
Asiatic black bears at Mount Jiri education centerCHON KWON-PIL
An estimated 90 Asiatic black bears now live in Mount Jiri and surrounding areas. Their population has grown to nearly 100 in just over two decades since six Asiatic black bears from Russia were first released into Mount Jiri in 2004.
As the bears’ range has expanded, concerns have grown over encounters with humans. Since July, the Korea National Park Service has sent safety alerts when bears are spotted or unusual incidents — such as property damage — occur. So far, six rounds of alerts have been sent to 2,371 people. Bear bells have also been installed along the main ridge trail on Mount Jiri.
Bears that repeatedly came into conflict with humans by damaging fences or destroying beehives have been captured and moved to a protection facility. A female Asiatic black bear was captured in Sancheong County, South Gyeongsang, in June, followed by a male bear in the same area on Aug. 6.
The two bears had repeatedly damaged local beekeeping farms by breaking into beehives and eating honey. They were eventually relocated to an ecological learning center in Gurye County.
With the number of visitors likely to surge during the upcoming Chuseok holiday, which extends from Sept. 24 to 27, the Korea National Park Service will regularly send warning messages on weekends and public holidays.
“To avoid encounters with Asiatic black bears, visitors should stay on designated trails and make their presence known by ringing bells,” a Korea National Park Service official said. “If you find signs of a bear or spot one, report it to the National Park Institute of Wildlife Conservation at 061-780-9120.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
