• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.140-146
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• 2018

Wild boars have expanded their habitats in Korea in recent years and caused serious social problems such as crop damage and appearance in urban areas. This study was carried out from May to October 2012 to investigate the environmental factors that affect crop damage based on actual cases reported in Geochang County of Gyeongnam Province, Korea. The analysis showed that the damages by wild boars occurred mainly between August and September, and rice was damaged most often while sweet potatoes were damaged most intensely. The results indicated that the damages were related to the wild boars' preference of crop and the seasonal availability of crops. Other factors that affected the crop damage included the slope, the topographic relief, and the distances from forest, stream, road, and residential area. There was no significant difference of environmental factor according to damage intensity, suggesting that the wild boars tended to attack the same cropland repeatedly and thus accumulating the damage. Our study suggests that reducing crop damages by wild boars will require cultivating crops less preferred by wild boars, installing electric fences, and controlling wild boar population with hunting and trapping.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.497-505
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• 2019

Winter hibernation in wildlife is a unique physiological mechanism for survival. For Asiatic black bears (ABBs, Ursus thibetanus ussuricus), hibernation is a very important but dangerous time for the cubs to be born. This study surveyed ABBs living in Mt. Jiri To examine the relationship between the temperature during hibernation and the hibernation days. The survey found that the average start and end dates of hibernation was December 7 and April 20, respectively. The average day of hibernation for females who gave birth was $167.8{\pm}22.6$ days. The average temperature of 5 days before hibernation was $0.6{\pm}4.1^{\circ}C$, the average temperature during hibernation was $1.3{\pm}2.43^{\circ}C$, and the average temperature of five days before the end of hibernation was $12.6{\pm}3.1^{\circ}C$. The hibernation days of the females that did not give birth to cubs and the males were $120.4{\pm}25.7$ days and $113.6{\pm}25.8$ days, respectively. The average temperatures of 5 days before hibernation was $2.1{\pm}4.2^{\circ}C$ and $-1.8{\pm}3.9^{\circ}C$, respectively. The average temperature during hibernation was $-0.2{\pm}1.6^{\circ}C$ and $-0.4{\pm}2.4^{\circ}C$. The average temperatures of five days before the end of hibernation were $7.8{\pm}3.6^{\circ}C$ and $7.8{\pm}4.4^{\circ}C$. These results indicate that females giving birth to cubs have higher hibernation days and average temperatures than the females that do not give birth and the males, which is due to the process of raising cubs during hibernation. The hibernating days and mean temperature for the groups in each lifecycle did not show any difference between the groups. This study is meaningful in that it disclosed the characteristics of hibernating intrinsic behaviors of ABBs. It observed the specific hibernation period and temperature of ABBs bears inhabiting in Mt. Jiri and examined the difference by sex, female(giving birth) and life cycle group according to temperature. The results of this study can be used to prevent the conflict between ABBs and humans in winter and spring and establish the preservation management plan.