Feeding Associations between the Asiatic Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus) and the Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) in the Sikhote-Alin Mountains

Abstract

We observed 12 episodes when wild boars (single animals and groups) fed on oak acorns and pine nuts which were falling down from trees where Asiatic black bears of different sexes and ages were feeding at the same time. While searching for acorns and nuts, wild boars oriented by acoustic and olfactory signals produced by bears. Adult bears practically did not react to the presence of wild boars. Bear cubs, showing anxiety, remained in the trees until the boars departed. Unilateral commensalism and indirect competition are the specific forms of interactions between the Asiatic black bear and the wild boar during certain periods of the year.