Distribution: This species ranges from an isolated population in southeastern Iran, through the foothills of the Himalayas to Southeast Asia, and northward to south-central China. Continuing northward there is a large gap, then a continuous population stretching from northeastern China across North Korea to the Russian Far East. Separate populations occur in South Korea, the southern islands of Japan (Honshu and Shikoku) and Taiwan. About half the range area is in China.
Range map of Asiatic black bear (U thibetanus) mapped by Bear Specialist Group created by Free the Bears
Range countries (18): Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Iran, Japan, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam.
Extirpation: Asiatic black bears have not been extirpated in any range country during the past 500 years. However, fossil records indicate a once much larger range, extending through the Caucasus to Europe, as far west as France and north to Germany and the Ural Mountains.
Elevational range: Asiatic black bears range from near sea level to 4,300 m (in Northeast India) or possibly 4,500 m (Bhutan), but typically do not permanently inhabit areas above treeline. However, they may use treeless alpine areas seasonally.
Overlap with other bear species: Asiatic black bears extensively overlap sun bears throughout mainland Southeast Asia (excluding Malaysia), occurring in the same habitats within the same forest patches. They overlap the range of brown bears in some parts of northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, and also in northeastern China, the Russian Far East, and North Korea; however, there is evidence of separation by habitat or elevation. They may overlap (or historically overlapped) sloth bears in a few spots in northern and northeastern India, but more commonly may use the same areas only seasonally. There is some overlap between Asiatic black bears and giant pandas in central China.
Brown_bear_U arctos_Machiara National Park_Pakistan_S Hameed
Sun bear_H malayanus_Cambodia Bear Sanctuary _Free the Bears
Sloth bear_M ursinus_Central India_Ansar Khan
Giant panda_A melanoleuca_Wanglang China_LiSheng
