Asiatic Black Bear Expert Team Co-Chair

Mei-hsiu is a professor of the Institute of Wildlife Conservation at the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology in her native Taiwan. In 1996, she began her studies of Asiatic black bears and bear–aboriginal interactions for her Ph.D., through the University of Minnesota. Her accomplishment in bringing to the public an understanding of the bears and an awareness of their endangered status in Taiwan won her the title of “bear momma.”  Her interests are to explore the ecological requirements and roles of bears in their forest ecosystem, identify and mitigate human–bear conflicts, and promote education programs to maintain the long-term viability of bears. She created the Taiwan Black Bear Conservation Association, which strives ultimately to delist Taiwan black bears as an endangered species.