Hapcheon-gun Collects Over 40 Hunting Traps to Protect Asiatic Black Bears

Illegal traps collected in the Gaya Mountain area of Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongnam.
[Photo by Hapcheon-gun]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongnam announced on the 29th that it collected about 40 illegal traps (hunting snares) around Gayasan Mountain.

About 30 people, including members from Hapcheon-gun, Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office, Gayasan National Park Service, and Wildlife Management Association, participated in this collection activity, which was conducted in the hills around Seonggiri, Gayamyeon to protect the habitat of the Asiatic black bear (Natural Monument No. 329) before hibernation.

The Asiatic black bear typically enters hibernation from December and wakes up to start activity around April to May of the following year. Earlier this year, Hapcheon-gun also collected about 30 illegal traps in the first half of the year.

The Asiatic black bears released in Jirisan have expanded their activity range, and their presence has been confirmed in Gayasan of Hapcheon area following Deogyusan, as well as around Odaesan in Gangwon Province, with the estimated population being 74 bears.

Kim Gil-hwan, head of the Environmental Sanitation Division of Hapcheon-gun, said, “To create an environment where the Asiatic black bear living in nature can coexist, it is most important not to set illegal traps such as snares. We ask for the active interest and caution of the residents.”