Japanese black bear (
Selenarctos thibetanus japonicus), one of the largest mammal in Japan, is in danger of extinction in Kyushu, Shikoku and Chugoku districts. In this report, we especially studied on the distribution of this species in Kanto district of central Japan by using the questionnaire and interview methods from July 1975 to March 1976, and showed it in a mesh map with a grid square of about 5.7×4.7km
2. They inhabited in peripheral mountains around Kanto district. Their geographical distribution largely overlapped natural and substitutional communities in
Querco-Fagetea region, considered the optimal area for this species. Coniferous plantation, however, was seemingly inadequate for their inhabiting. Cultural land was usually avoided by them. Damages widely occurred, and remarkably in their distribution fringes. In those areas, the animals have been killed by the controll projects. Various developments and huntings surely caused a clear tendency toward a rapid decrease in their distribution.
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