A female Asiatic black bear that repeatedly raided apiaries to steal honey was captured on June 16 and relocated to the Asiatic Black Bear Ecology Learning Center in Gurye, South Jeolla Province.

According to the Korea National Park Service, the female bear, born in the wild in 2011, has caused a total of 14 incidents of damage to honey farms.

The park service decided to capture the bear after it continued to appear in human-inhabited areas despite two previous relocation attempts.

The park service also plans to capture another male bear of Russian origin that has been causing persistent damage to farms and relocate it to the ecology learning center in the near future.

It is estimated that there are currently 96 Asiatic black bears living in the wild, including in Jirisan Mountain.

Starting tomorrow, the park service will begin sending text message alerts to visitors with safety guidelines, such as avoiding direct eye contact and quietly backing away when encountering a bear.
(Photo: Provided by Korea National Park Service, Yonhap News)