(MENAFN- AzerNews) By Narmina Mammadova
In the Shahdag National Park, unidentified people killed a bear, the species of which are included in the Red Book of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources reported on November 23.
It is noted that the department appealed to the Ismayilli district police in connection with the case of the murder of a brown bear in the Basgal forest range.
It is not yet known who shot the animal included in the Red Book of Azerbaijan.
The fact of the shooting of a brown bear is under investigation.
Brown bear or shaggy-hairedbear is native to Europe, Asia, and northwesternNorth America. More than 80 forms of the brown bear have been described; they are treated as several subspecies ofUrsus arctos. North American brown bears are traditionally calledgrizzlies.
Brown bears are omnivorous and feed on berries, plantrootsand shoots, smallmammals,fish, calves of many hoofed animals, and carrion. They oftencachefood in shallow holes, and they dig readily and vigorously in search ofrodents. Except in some southern areas, bears retire to dens in winter; they accumulate large amounts offatduring late summer and autumn. Cubs, usually twins, are born in winter after about six to eight months ofgestation. At birth a cub weighs less than a kilogram.
Eurasian brown bearsare generally solitary animals that are able to run and swim well. They are usually 120210 cm (about 4883 inches) long and weigh 135250 kg (300550 pounds); the exceptionally largeSiberian brown bear weighing as much as 360 kg (800 pounds), approximates the size of the North Americangrizzly. Coat colour is highly variable, ranging from grayish white through bluish and brownish shades to almost black. Eurasian brown bears are commonly seen inzoos; formerly they were often trained to move rhythmically tomusic—the so-called dancing bears of European carnivals and festivals. They once roamed most ofEuropeandAsia; however, theanimal'ssouthern range has been significantly reduced.
Brown bears have an extremely large geographic distribution, they are scattered around the world, but their number are noticeably decreasing, according to the latest statistic. To date their worldwide population totals more than 200,000 individuals. Therefore, animals are listed in the Red Book.
Their large size and relatively aggressivedispositioncan unsettle people who come in contact with them, and brown bears that frequent human settlements are sometimes killed by landowners and government officials. Other sources of brown bear mortality include collisions withtrainsandautomobiles,poaching, and sporthunting. In addition, thegallbladderandbileof some brown bears are harvested to maketraditional medicinesthat purportedlyalleviate digestive problems and inflammation and purify theblood. Many harvesting operations also remove and sell the animals' paws, which are considered a delicacy in parts of Asia. TheAinu peopleofJapan worship the brown bear as a god of themountains, and some mountain-dwelling Ainu consider the bear their ancestor.
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