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{{Short description|Subspecies of carnivore}}
{{for|the subspecies of American black bear also known as the "blue bear"|glacier bear}}
{{for|the subspecies of American black bear also known as the "blue bear"|glacier bear}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2019}}
{{Automatic taxobox
{{Subspeciesbox
⚫
| status = CITES_A1
| image = Oji zoo, Kobe, Japan (6631356045).jpg
| image_caption = Tibetan blue bear at the [[Oji Zoo]], [[Japan]].
| genus = Ursus
| species = arctos
| species_link = Brown bear
| subspecies = pruinosus
⚫
| status = CITES_A2
| status_system = CITES
| status_system = CITES
| status_ref = <ref>{{Cite web |title=CITES Appendices I, II and III |date=2023 |url=https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/app/2023/E-Appendices-2023-05-04.pdf |access-date=16 May 2023 |website=CITES}}</ref>
⚫
| image = Tibetan_Blue_Bear_-_Ursus_arctos_pruinosus_-_Joseph_Smit crop.jpg
⚫
| authority = [[Edward Blyth|Blyth]], 1854
| image_caption = ''U. a. pruinosus''
| taxon = Ursus arctos pruinosus
| trinomial = ''Ursus arctos pruinosus''
⚫
| trinomial_authority = [[Edward Blyth|Blyth]], 1854
}}
}}
The '''Tibetan bear''' or ''' Tibetan blue bear''' (''Ursus arctos pruinosus'')<ref>{{cite journal |author=Lydekker P.Z.S,|year=1897|title=The Blue Bear of Tibet|journal=Journal of Asiatic Soc. Bengal|volume=XXII|pages=p 426}}</ref> is a subspecies of the [[brown bear]] (''Ursus arctos'') found in the eastern [[Tibetan plateau]]. It is also known as the '''Himalayan blue bear''',<ref>{{cite journal |authorlink=Arthur de Carle Sowerby |first=Arthur de Carle |last=Sowerby |year=1920 |title=Notes on Heude's Bears in the Sikawei Museum, and on the Bears of Palaearctic Eastern Asia |journal=[[Journal of Mammalogy]] |publisher=American Society of Mammalogists |pages=225 }}</ref> '''Himalayan snow bear''', '''Tibetan brown bear''', or the '''horse bear'''.
The '''Tibetan brown bear''' ('''''Ursus arctos pruinosus'''''), also known as ''' Tibetan blue bear''',<ref>{{cite journal |author=Lydekker P.Z.S. |year=1897|title=The Blue Bear of Tibet|journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |volume=1897|page=412}}</ref> is a subspecies of the [[brown bear]] (''Ursus arctos'') in the eastern [[Tibetan Plateau]].


One of the rarest subspecies of bear in the world, the blue bear is rarely sighted in the wild. First classified in 1851, it was once known in the [[Western world]] only through a small number of fur and bone samples. However, the 2021 French documentary ''The Velvet Queen'' (''La Panthère des Neiges'') did manage to capture extensive footage of the reclusive animal.<ref>{{cite AV media |people = Amiguet, Marie and Munier, Vincent | date = July 13, 2021
In [[Standard Tibetan|Tibetan]], it is known as ''Dom gyamuk''.
| title = La panthère des neiges | trans-title = The Velvet Queen |type = Motion Picture | language = French | url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11937680/reference/}}</ref>


==Common names==
One of the rarest subspecies of bear in the world, the blue bear is rarely sighted in the wild. The blue bear is known in the west only through a small number of fur and bone samples. It was first classified in 1854.
Tibetan blue bear is also known as the '''Himalayan blue bear''',<ref>{{cite journal |authorlink=Arthur de Carle Sowerby |first=Arthur de Carle |last=Sowerby |year=1920 |title=Notes on Heude's Bears in the Sikawei Museum, and on the Bears of Palaearctic Eastern Asia |journal=[[Journal of Mammalogy]] |publisher=American Society of Mammalogists |page=225}}</ref> '''Himalayan snow bear''', '''Tibetan brown bear''', and the '''horse bear'''. In [[Standard Tibetan|Tibetan]], it is known as '''{{Transliteration|bo|Dom gyamuk}}'''.


==Taxonomy==
==Taxonomic history==
⚫
[[File:Tibetan_Blue_Bear_-_Ursus_arctos_pruinosus_-_Joseph_Smit crop.jpg|thumb|Illustration of a Tibetan blue bear by [[Joseph Smit]]]]
The [[Gobi Bear|Gobi brown 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.
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 (biology)|relict]] population of the blue bear. However, the Gobi bear is sometimes classified as its own subspecies, and closely resembles other Asian brown bears.


==Habitat and range==
==Distribution and habitat==
While it is unlikely that the blue bear generally occupies the high mountain peaks and snow fields where the yeti is sometimes sighted, it is possible that the occasional specimen might be observed traveling through these regions 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.
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.


==Conservation status==
==Conservation ==
[[File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17540841703).jpg|thumb|Mrs. [[Yvette Borup Andrews]] feeding a Tibetan bear cub in 1917]]
The exact conservation status of the blue bear is unknown, due to limited information. However, in the United States trade in blue bear specimens or products is restricted by the [[Endangered Species Act]]. It is also listed in Appendix I of the [[Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species]] (CITES) as a protected species. It is threatened by the use of bear [[bile]] in traditional [[Chinese medicine]] and habitat encroachment.
The exact conservation status of the blue bear is unknown, due to limited information. However, in the United States, trading blue bear specimens or products is restricted by the [[Endangered Species Act]]. It is also listed in Appendix I of the [[Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species]] (CITES) as a protected species. It is threatened by the use of bear [[bile]] in traditional [[Chinese medicine]] and habitat encroachment.


==In culture ==
==Cultural references==
[[File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17975206579).jpg|thumb|1917 photo of two Tibetan bear cubs playing]]
The blue bear is notable for having been suggested as one possible inspiration for sightings associated with the legend of the [[yeti]]. A 1960 expedition to search for evidence of the yeti, led by [[Sir Edmund Hillary]], returned with two scraps of fur that had been identified by locals as 'yeti fur' that were later scientifically identified as being portions of the pelt of a blue bear.<ref>[http://www.tdg.ch/geneve-15-000-francs-peau-yeti-2011-06-22 "Genève: 15 000 francs pour une peau de yéti"]
The blue bear is notable for having been suggested as one possible inspiration for the [[yeti]]. A 1960 expedition to search for evidence of the yeti, led by [[Sir Edmund Hillary]], returned with two scraps of fur that had been identified by locals as 'yeti fur' that were later scientifically identified as being portions of the pelt of a blue bear.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tdg.ch/geneve-15-000-francs-peau-yeti-2011-06-22 |title="Genève: 15 000 francs pour une peau de yéti" |access-date=2011-06-23 |archive-date=2011-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624193612/http://www.tdg.ch/geneve-15-000-francs-peau-yeti-2011-06-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
</ref><ref>[http://www.hoteldesventes.ch/encheres/vente-juin2011/mercredi-22-juin-9h30/lot-15221 Détail du lot n° 872"]</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
;Notes
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
*{{wikispecies-inline|Ursus arctos}}
{{Wikispecies|Ursus arctos}}
*{{Commonscat-inline|Ursus arctos pruinosus}}
* {{Commonscat-inline|Ursus arctos pruinosus}}
*{{ITIS |id=202386 |taxon=''Ursus arctos pruinosus''}}



{{carnivora-stub}}
{{Tibet-stub}}
{{Arctos}}
{{Arctos}}


{{Taxonbar|from=Q1997493}}
[[Category:Bears]]

⚫
[[Category:Mammals of Asia]]
[[Category:Mammals of China]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1854]]
[[Category:Mammals of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Carnivorans of Asia]]
[[Category:Fauna of Tibet]]
[[Category:Mammals of Tibet]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Edward Blyth]]
⚫
[[Category:Subspecies of brown bear]]

Latest revision as of 18:17, 19 November 2024

For the subspecies of American black bear also known as the "blue bear", see glacier bear.

Tibetan blue bear
Tibetan blue bear at the Oji Zoo, Japan.
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus: Ursus
Species:
U. arctos
Subspecies:
U. a. pruinosus
Trinomial name
Ursus arctos pruinosus
Blyth, 1854

The Tibetan brown bear (Ursus arctos pruinosus), also known as Tibetan blue bear,[2] is a subspecies of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) in the eastern Tibetan Plateau.

One of the rarest subspecies of bear in the world, the blue bear is rarely sighted in the wild. First classified in 1851, it was once known in the Western world only through a small number of fur and bone samples. However, the 2021 French documentary The Velvet Queen (La Panthère des Neiges) did manage to capture extensive footage of the reclusive animal.[3]

Common names

[edit]

Tibetan blue bear is also known as the Himalayan blue bear,[4] Himalayan snow bear, Tibetan brown bear, and the horse bear. In Tibetan, it is known as Dom gyamuk.

Taxonomy

[edit]
Illustration of a Tibetan blue bear by Joseph Smit

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.

Distribution and habitat

[edit]

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.

Conservation

[edit]
Mrs. Yvette Borup Andrews feeding a Tibetan bear cub in 1917

The exact conservation status of the blue bear is unknown, due to limited information. However, in the United States, trading blue bear specimens or products is restricted by the Endangered Species Act. It is also listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) as a protected species. It is threatened by the use of bear bile in traditional Chinese medicine and habitat encroachment.

In culture

[edit]
1917 photo of two Tibetan bear cubs playing

The blue bear is notable for having been suggested as one possible inspiration for the yeti. A 1960 expedition to search for evidence of the yeti, led by Sir Edmund Hillary, returned with two scraps of fur that had been identified by locals as 'yeti fur' that were later scientifically identified as being portions of the pelt of a blue bear.[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "CITES Appendices I, II and III" (PDF). CITES. 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  2. ^ Lydekker P.Z.S. (1897). "The Blue Bear of Tibet". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1897: 412.
  3. ^ Amiguet, Marie and Munier, Vincent (July 13, 2021). La panthère des neiges [The Velvet Queen] (Motion Picture) (in French).
  4. ^ Sowerby, Arthur de Carle (1920). "Notes on Heude's Bears in the Sikawei Museum, and on the Bears of Palaearctic Eastern Asia". Journal of Mammalogy. American Society of Mammalogists: 225.
  5. ^ ""Genève: 15 000 francs pour une peau de yéti"". Archived from the original on 2011-06-24. Retrieved 2011-06-23.
[edit]
Wikispecies has information related to Ursus arctos.
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