Tigers and Bears of the high Himalayan Mountains

[brobear]

What bear species will the tigers come into contact with high up in the Himalayan Mountains? 

[brobear]

Credits to Sully: Mod Edit (30th Dec, 2018):
Almost a decade after BBC managed to photograph high altitude tigers for the first time, they have been detected by local authorities in hills & valleys all over Himalayas. 

[brobear]

Tigers detected at 12,000ft in Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand has a total area of 53,566 km2 ( 20,682 sq mi ), of which 86% is mountainous and 65% is covered by forest. Most of the northern part of the state is covered by high Himalayan peaks and glaciers.

Uttarakhand is home to rare species of plants and animals, many of which are protected by sanctuaries and reserves. National parks in Uttarakhand include the Jim Corbett National Park (the oldest national park of India) in Nainital and Pauri Garhwal District, and Valley of Flowers National Park & Nanda Devi National Park in Chamoli District, which together are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A number of plant species in the valley are internationally threatened, including several that have not been recorded from elsewhere in Uttarakhand.[99] Rajaji National Park in Haridwar, Dehradun and Pauri Garhwal District and Govind Pashu Vihar National Park & Gangotri National Park in Uttarkashi District are some other protected areas in the state.

Leopards are found in areas that are abundant in hills but may also venture into the lowland jungles. Smaller felines include the jungle cat, fishing cat, and leopard cat. Other mammals include four kinds of deer ( barking, sambar, hog and chital ), sloth, Brown and Himalayan black bears, Indian grey mongooses, otters, yellow-throated martens, bharal, Indian pangolins, and langur and rhesus monkeys. In the summer, elephants can be seen in herds of several hundred. Marsh crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris), gharials ( Gavialis gangeticus ) and other reptiles are also found in the region. Local crocodiles were saved from extinction by captive breeding programs and subsequently re-released into the Ramganga river. Several freshwater terrapins and turtles like the Indian sawback turtle ( Kachuga tecta ), brahminy river turtle ( Hardella thurjii ), and Ganges softshell turtle ( Trionyx gangeticus ) are found in the rivers. Butterflies and birds of the region include red helen ( Papilio helenus ), the great eggfly ( Hypolimnos bolina ), common tiger ( Danaus genutia ), pale wanderer ( Pareronia avatar ), jungle babbler, tawny-bellied babbler, great slaty woodpecker, red-breasted parakeet, orange-breasted green pigeon and chestnut-winged cuckoo. In 2011, a rare migratory bird, the bean goose, was also seen in the Jim Corbett National Park. A critically endangered bird, last seen in 1876 is the Himalayan quail endemic to the western Himalayas of the state.

[brobear]

Credits to Rishi: Uttarakhand plans 'High Altitude Tiger Project!'

After getting a firm testimony to the presence of tigers in Uttarakhand up to 14 thousand feet, now the state is preparing to shape the 'High Altitude Tiger Project'.

There are mainly tigers in the 13 forest divisions of the state including the Carbet Tiger Reserve and the Rajaji Tiger Reserve. Under this, forest divisions not included under those, will be recognized for the presence of tigers. Global Tiger Forum (GTF) and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), a global organization working for tiger conservation, are preparing this draft. Then, in its new habitats of higher Himalayan areas, steps will be taken to protect the tiger.
           

[brobear]

globaltigerforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Final-HAT-VERSION-28-AUGUST-20191.pdf

Prey species like Wild pigs, sambar deer,
barking deer, macaques involved in human
wildlife conflict and population estimation
of predators like tiger (8) and leopard (16)
Biological Conservation Wang and Macdonald
2009
Camera trapping using SECR framework in
Jigme Singye Wangchuck NP between 2006-
07 gave a figure of 8 tigers and 16 leopards,
also including other animals like the
himalayan black bear, serow, prey species
like sambar, wild pig, barking deer and
smaller cats like the asiatic golden cat and
leopard cat

[brobear]

We know that Himalayan tigers come in contact with Himalayan black bears. Interactions between these two species seem to be rare. Thus far, we have found no records of Himalayan tigers coming in contact with Himalayan brown bears ( Ursus arctos isabellinus ) a.k.a. 'red bears' or with Tibetan brown bears ( Ursus arctos pruinosus ) a.k.a. 'blue bears'.

[brobear]

Feb 14, 2022 8:30:52 GMT -5 thenormalguy said:

There is a new study that came out recently : 

Davaasuren, D., Nominchuluu, C., Lkhagvatseren, S., Reynolds, H. V., Tumendemberel, O., Swenson, J. E., & Zedrosser, A. (2022). Ecto-and endoparasites of brown bears living in an extreme environment, the Gobi Desert, Mongolia. Ursus, 2022(33e1), 1-5.

There are 3 new weights of Gobi Bears in this study : 

1. A 21 year old female weighing 48 kg.
   
   
2. A 5 year old male weighing 108 kg.
   
   
3. A 10 year old male weighing 155 kg.
   

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You can find this study on Google Scholar and it's full text is displayed in research gate.

*It is my belief that the Gobi bear, the Syrian bear, the Himalayan "red" bear, and the Tibetan "blue" bear are all within the same size range. But, we will need data to know for certain. ( 155 kg = 342 pounds ) The Himalayan Mountains is the most likely location to one day having a confirmed account of a tiger killing a full-grown male brown bear. 

[brobear]

planetzoo.fandom.com/wiki/Himalayan_Brown_Bear

They have thick reddish-brown fur and males are larger than females, with an average length of 1.9m and weight of 135kg, in comparison to the female averages of 1.6m and 70kg. They live at high altitudes - often above the tree line - and spend the summer months foraging, hunting and mating. The winter months are spent hibernating.

*Males average: 135kg = 298 pounds.
*Females average: 70kg = 154 pounds.

[brobear]

Himalayan brown bear range: 

[brobear]

The bears are found in Nepal, Tibet, west China, north India, north Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, entire Kyrgyzstan and south-east Kazakhstan. They are already speculated to have become extinct in Bhutan. Phylogenetic analysis has shown that the Gobi bear clusters with the Himalayan brown bear and may represent a relict population of this subspecies.

The Himalayan brown bear consists of a single clade that is the sister group to all other brown bears (and polar bears). The dating of the branching event, estimated at 658,000 years ago, corresponds to the period of a Middle Pleistocene episode of glaciation on the Tibetan plateau, suggesting that during this Nyanyaxungla glaciation the lineage that would give rise to the Himalayan brown bear became isolated in a distinct refuge, leading to its divergence.

[brobear]

The Gobi bear is sometimes classified as being of the same subspecies as the Tibetan blue bear; this is based on morphological similarities, and the belief that the desert-dwelling Gobi bear represents a relict population of the blue bear. However, the Gobi bear is sometimes classified as its own subspecies, and closely resembles other Asian brown bears.

It is possible that the occasional specimen might be observed traveling through high mountain peaks during times of reduced food supply, or in search of a mate. However, the limited information available about the habits and range of the blue bear makes such speculation difficult to confirm. 
 
www.bearconservation.org.uk/tibetan-blue-bear/  
 
Range: Historically found mainly on the alpine eastern Tibetan plateau ( 4,500 to 5,000 metres ), in eastern Tibet, western China, Nepal and occasionally in Bhutan. Remaining bears in the wild seem to be confined to eastern Tibet and to Bhutan. A sighting was reported on the northern plateau near the historic border between Tibet and China in 2013. A further confirmed sighting was made in a remote valley in eastern Tibet in June 2019. Lives in mountainous regions at high altitudes close to the tree line. 

[brobear]

Identifying climate refugia and its potential impact on Tibetan brown bear (Ursus arctos pruinosus) in Sanjiangyuan National Park, China

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6912912/

Sanjiangyuan National Park is China's first pilot national park. It lies in the hinterland of the Tibetan Plateau (between 89°50′ and 99°14′E, 32°22′ and 36°47′N), spanning an area of 123,100 km2, 14 times larger than Yellowstone National Park (Figure ​(Figure2).2). The altitude is between 3,500 and 4,800 m. It is a plateau continental climate. The weather is typically dry and cold with the annual average temperature ranging from −5.6°C to −7.8°C and the annual precipitation consisting predominately of snowfall ranging from 262.2 mm to 772.8 mm. Sanjiangyuan, or Source of Three Rivers, refers to the area's role as the headwaters of China's three largest rivers (Yangtze river, Yellow river and Lancang river). The region has global influence and dictates China's ecosystem (Zhang, Jiang, et al., 2019). A variety of endemic alpine flora and fauna constitutes Sanjiangyuan's excessive biological diversity. As China's first national park, it has become an exhibition area of nature protection and ecological culture heritage on the Tibetan Plateau (Zhang, Jiang, et al., 2019). Unfortunately, it is also one of the most sensitive regions to climate change (Liu et al., 2017; Wang, Song, & Hu, 2010).