The Asiatic black bear or moon bear (Ursus thibetanus) ranges through southern and eastern Asia, from Afghanistan and Pakistan through the Himalayas to Indochina, including most of China, Manchuria, Siberia, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. The usual habitat of this bear is angiosperm forests, mixed hardwood-conifer forests, and brushy areas. It occurs in mountainous areas up to the tree-line, which can be as high as 13,000 ft (4,000 m) in parts of their Himalayan range.

The Asiatic black bear has an adult body length of 4.3–6.5 ft (1.3–2.0 m), a tail of 2.5–3.5 ft (75–105 cm), a height at the shoulder of 2.6–3.3 ft (80–100 cm), and a body weight of 110–440 lb (50–200 kg). Male animals are considerably larger than females. Their weight is greatest in late summer and autumn, when the animals are fat in preparation for winter. Their fur is most commonly black, with white patches on the chin and a crescent-...