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▲tourists encounter tibetan brown bears

recently, many netizens posted short videos on tiktok, saying that they encountered wild brown bears while traveling in tibet. red star news noticed in the videos shot by many netizens that the brown bears sometimes waited for passing vehicles to feed them on the side of the road, and sometimes played in the stream under the road. the distance between tourists and brown bears was very close, but no incidents of active injury occurred.

on the morning of september 12, a reporter from red star news interviewed ms. pei, who encountered the brown bear. according to her, on september 10, she drove to sapu mountain in nagqu area for a visit and encountered a brown bear on the road. ms. pei did not get out of the car, but opened the door and stood beside the car to greet the brown bear.

"they were right on the side of the road. we parked for five minutes and then left." ms. pei told red star news that she works in tibet and according to her understanding, it is normal to encounter brown bears in nagqu area, but this was the first time she saw one with her own eyes.

on the afternoon of the 12th, a red star news reporter called the natural resources bureau of buru county, where sapu sacred mountain is located. the staff said that they had noticed the situation. brown bears have appeared in recent years, but no one has been injured. "inside and outside the scenic area, our forest rangers patrol and remind tourists not to get close, but sometimes some tourists don't listen." the staff said that forest rangers will be arranged to strengthen patrols along the highway to remind tourists not to get close to wild animals.

▲tourists encounter tibetan brown bears

wildlife science writer yang yi told red star news after checking the photos taken by tourists that the tourists encountered a tibetan brown bear, which is also called a tibetan horse bear because of its pointed face, which looks a bit like a horse. the tibetan horse bear is a subspecies of the brown bear and can be found in tibet, qinghai, and southern xinjiang in my country. its habitat is mainly distributed in high-altitude areas.

yang yi introduced that tibetan brown bears have a diverse diet, mainly meat, such as mice, rabbits, and the carcasses of animals and livestock. they also compete with tibetan foxes for food. "tibetan brown bears sometimes venture into villages to look for food or steal livestock from farmers. because the environment they live in is relatively harsh, relatively speaking, few people are harmed by them."

tibetan brown bears are nomadic animals that wander to lower altitudes in winter. when breeding, they dig their own holes or use abandoned holes of other animals. after giving birth to a cub, the mother bear will live with the cub for more than a year, sometimes even longer, before separating and living independently. tibetan brown bears are basically solitary. there are basically two situations when seeing pairs in the wild. one is that the male chases the female during the breeding season, and the other is that the cubs that have just been separated from the nest will temporarily live together for a period of time.

yang yi reminds tourists to avoid direct contact with wild animals when they are in the wild. "just keep a distance. wild animals will only attack when they are predators, protecting their territory or seeking a mate. if tourists feed wild animals, it will make them dependent on it." yang yi explained that tourists feeding animals makes it easier for them to get food, and they will become dependent on it. if they are fed by humans for a long time, they will get close to humans, which will easily lead to conflicts between humans and animals, such as attacking humans.

there is also the issue of zoonotic diseases. if you bring food to feed animals, some animals are carriers and hosts of plague. not only will animals attack people, but they will also transmit harmful viruses and bacteria to people, affecting health. "you don't need to interfere too much in the lives of animals. just watch them quietly. don't touch, contact, feed, or chase them. don't make loud noises when you encounter wild animals," said yang yi.

red star news reporter zhong mengzhe and hu xianhe