Understanding the prevalence of bear part consumption in Cambodia:A comparison of specialised questioning techniques

The trade in bear parts for medicine and for status is a conservation challenge throughout Asia. The Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) and the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) are endemic to this region, and populations are estimated to have declined throughout their ranges due to widespread illegal killing of bears and trade in parts, combined with loss of habitat. Previous studies have indicated that legislation alone is insufficient to prevent illegal hunting and trade, indicating instead a need to address demand for bear parts and products. We conducted mixed-method surveys in Cambodia to understand the key motivators for individuals to consume bear parts, and to understand whether specialised questioning techniques are applicable in this context. Bear part use is illegal in Cambodia and may therefore be considered a sensitive behaviour, in that individuals may be reluctant to admit to it. To counteract possible biases, four specialised questioning techniques were used in this study: randomised response technique (RRT), unmatched count technique (UCT), nominative technique (NT), and false consensus bias (FCB). All four methods serve to shield a respondent’s admittance of a sensitive behaviour from the interviewer. The results presented here show that great variability exists in anonymous methods’ efficacy in certain contexts. However, the results overall indicate that individuals in Cambodia are under-reporting their consumption of bear parts when directly asked, and that the prevalence of bear part use in Cambodia may be as high as 15% of the population, representing a significant conservation challenge

Understanding the prevalence of bear part consumption in Cambodia:A comparison of specialised questioning techniques

<div><p>The trade in bear parts for medicine and for status is a conservation challenge throughout Asia. The Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) and the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) are endemic to this region, and populations are estimated to have declined throughout their ranges due to widespread illegal killing of bears and trade in parts, combined with loss of habitat. Previous studies have indicated that legislation alone is insufficient to prevent illegal hunting and trade, indicating instead a need to address demand for bear parts and products. We conducted mixed-method surveys in Cambodia to understand the key motivators for individuals to consume bear parts, and to understand whether specialised questioning techniques are applicable in this context. Bear part use is illegal in Cambodia and may therefore be considered a sensitive behaviour, in that individuals may be reluctant to admit to it. To counteract possible biases, four specialised questioning techniques were used in this study: randomised response technique (RRT), unmatched count technique (UCT), nominative technique (NT), and false consensus bias (FCB). All four methods serve to shield a respondent’s admittance of a sensitive behaviour from the interviewer. The results presented here show that great variability exists in anonymous methods’ efficacy in certain contexts. However, the results overall indicate that individuals in Cambodia are under-reporting their consumption of bear parts when directly asked, and that the prevalence of bear part use in Cambodia may be as high as 15% of the population, representing a significant conservation challenge.</p></div

An observational study of the behaviour of captive rehabilitant sun bears (Helarctos malayanus)

Rehabilitant Malayan sun bears often remain in captivity for long periods of time and may experience significant welfare challenges including disability and persistent lip lesions. This study aimed to investigate whether short-term observations of behavior such as oral stereotypies are useful as noninvasive indicators of lip lesion pain, and whether behavior differs between able-bodied and disabled bears. Observations were collected from 21 captive, rehabilitant Malayan sun bears, of both sexes, a range of ages, and with lip lesions ranging in severity. Some also had disabilities. Oral stereotypy frequency was unrelated to lip lesion severity (p\ua0>\ua00.05), and no relationships with other behaviors were found; however, visual disabilities had significant effects on behavior. For example, visually disabled bears walked more than able-bodied bears (p\ua0=\ua00.003) or those with physical disabilities (p\ua0=\ua00.01). Further research on the feeding behavior of bears suffering from lip lesions may elucidate other potential behavioral indicators of pain. Researching effects of visual disabilities in bears with a larger sample size is also recommended to determine generalizable impacts in affected individuals and resulting welfare implications

Correction: Understanding the prevalence of bear part consumption in Cambodia: A comparison of specialised questioning techniques.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211544.]

Characteristics of sun bear chest marks and their patterns of individual variation

Animal coloration is widely involved in a variety of social interactions, and mammals can convey information to conspecifics by visual signals, such as colored or contrasting body marks. The sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) has a vibrant and unusual chest mark. Here, we describe the characteristics of sun bear chest marks and their patterns of individual variation by (1) sex, (2) time, and (3) some biochemistry values related to fur pigmentation. Sun bear pictures were taken from 2009 to 2018 at the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre and Free the Bears sanctuary. We hypothesize that chest marks may serve in conspecific communication and, thus, we mainly expect that (a) these marks allow for sexual recognition and, thus, they should show remarkable differences by sex; (b) marks do not change over time because their consistency allows for easier intraspecific recognition; and (c) patterns of variation may be dependent on the age and/or physical condition of an individual. The most common shapes of sun bear chest marks (n = 63 M and 108 F) were U (M = 60.3%, F = 57.4%) and V (M = 31.8%, F = 32.4%) shapes. We did not detect differences in shape patterns by sex and, over the years, chest mark shape never changed for the same bear (n = 49 individuals, 16 M and 33 F). The number of dark dots in chest marks showed large amounts of individual variation (mean ± SD = 37.7 ± 26.8 dots; range = 1–143), and the quantity of dark dots increased with bear age. The complexity of sun bear chest marks might be related to the existence of complex interactions among individuals of the same species, which may allow for recognition and evaluation of their individual characteristics, such as age and health. Experimental approaches are needed to understand the potential functions of sun bear chest marks.During this research, V.P. was financially supported by (1) the Excellence Project CGL2017-82782-P financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI), and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER, EU); and (2) a GRUPIN research grant from the Regional Government of Asturias (Ref.: IDI/2018/000151). M.M.D. was financially supported by the Spanish Ramon y Cajal grant RYC-2014-16263. G.B. was financially supported by a collaboration contract with the MUSE – Museo delle Scienze of Trento (Italy).Peer reviewe