TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Yushan National Park Headquarters said Wednesday (May 29) that staff had found the remains of a Formosan black bear near a suspension bridge on the Walami Trail at the end of April. 

An X-ray revealed a metal artifact had penetrated the bear’s lung and remained lodged in the left chest.

Poachers are suspected as having killed the animal. An autopsy was conducted by the Animal Disease Diagnostic Center of the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, revealing the bear was tagged number BB03 and given a tracking collar in April 2021, per CNA.

Yushan National Park Headquarters said when the black bear was tagged and entered into the park’s records, it weighed approximately 100 kilograms and was a healthy adult male bear with no missing toes. Although the collar fell off the bear in September 2021 and remote tracking stopped, the bear still provided a lot of useful information.

Park authorities said BB03 wandered the hillside very close to Hualien County’s Nan-an Visitor Center, with the majority of his activity taking place in virgin forests far away from human settlements. The bear’s activity range was 33 square kilometers, spending 40% of its time on the outskirts of Yushan National Park.

Based on the state of the bear’s decomposed body, it was estimated to have been dead for more than 30 days before being discovered by park officials. Based upon the nature of the bear's death, together with the location just 300 meters from the border of the national park, park officials believe poachers operating at night may have killed the bear.

Park authorities said that Formosan black bear conservation requires the cooperation of residents, municipal governments, and local Indigenous groups.