Treatment of two Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) with severe injuries and their subsequent release into the wild: a case report

BMC Veterinary Research

Seong-Chan Yeon¹  Kwangsik Jang²  Kyung Mi Shim²  Se Eun Kim²  Seong Soo Kang²  Dong-Hyuk Jeong³  Seung-Hyo Lim³  Jeong-Jin Yang³  Joo-Yeul Choi³ 

[1] Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, 08826, Seoul, Republic of Korea;Department of Veterinary Surgery and Biomaterial R&BD Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Chonnam National University, 61186, Gwanju, Republic of Korea;Wildlife Medical Center, Korea National Park Service, 57616, Gurye, Republic of Korea;

关键词: Asiatic black bears;    Wildlife;    Injury;    Amputation;    Dual plate fixation;    rhBMP-2;    Rehabilitation;    Re-introduction;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12917-021-02834-9

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe rehabilitation of injured wildlife and their subsequent release into the wild is a humane act as well as important in wildlife conservation. However, little is known about the animals’ fate after release. Therefore, to address these uncertainties, it is essential to adequately describe how the injured animals were treated and managed before releasing into the wild; moreover, post-release monitoring should also be performed. Herein, we document for the first time the process of rescue, surgery, and rehabilitation of severely injured Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus; endangered species in South Korea) and their fate after returning to the wild.Case presentationA six-year-old female (bear-01) and a three-year-old male (bear-02) bears were injured by an illegal snare and collision with a bus, respectively. Bear-01 had broad muscle necrosis and ruptures from the snared ankle on the right thoracic limb, with myiasis, and elbow disarticulation was performed. In bear-02, a non-reducible comminuted fracture of the left humerus was confirmed radiologically, and the operation was performed by using dual plate fixation with hydroxyapatite and recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2. The bear-01 and -02 were completely healed approximately 30 and 60 days after surgery, respectively. After that, they underwent rehabilitation for 8 and 25 days, respectively, in an outdoor enclosure similar to their natural habitat. Bear-01 and -02 were released into the wild after 45 and 99 days after surgery, respectively, and their mean daily movement distance during the first 30 days after releasing was 2.9 ± 2.1 and 1.3 ± 1.6 km, respectively. The annual mean 95% Kernel home-range size of bear-01 and bear-02 was 265.8 and 486.9 km2, respectively. They hibernated every winter, gained weight, gave birth to cubs (bear-01), were not found to have any abnormalities in the veterinary tests, and were not involved in any conflicts with humans after returning to the wild.ConclusionsBears without one leg or those with dual plates could adapt well in their natural habitat, which shows that our surgical and post-operative treatments were effective. Additionally, minimizing human contact and observing/evaluating behavior during the rehabilitation is essential in reducing human-bear conflicts after release.

【 授权许可】

CC BY