Taitung: A male and female Formosan black bear were successfully rescued from snare traps in Taitung County and released back into the wild, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said Tuesday.
According to Focus Taiwan, this marks the first-ever simultaneous rescue of two bears. The event occurred at 2 p.m. on Monday when a patrol team from Yanping Township discovered the animals at the junction of an Indigenous reserve and state-owned forest, located 725 meters above sea level.
The male bear weighed 60 kilograms, while the female weighed 43 kilograms. Both animals had their left forelimbs trapped in snares, which were about 10 meters apart. Fortunately, their injuries were minor, and after receiving on-site treatment and cleaning of their wounds, they were monitored until the anesthesia wore off.
Once awake, the bears walked off and safely returned to their natural habitat, the agency reported.