The Asiatic black bear’s habitat will be registered as a protected area by the Department of Environment, said the director of Hormozgan Province’s DOE office. Until 2009, research on the black bear’s habitat and diet was conducted by universities in Hormozgan, Kerman and Sistan-Baluchestan, “but then [the DOE] took over to get directly involved in the research,” Majid Vafadar was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.”The research requires a large budget.” The Asiatic black bear is a medium-sized bear — smaller than the brown bear — and is known by other names such as Himalayan Black Bear, the Moon Bear, and the White Chested Bear. A small subspecies, known as the Baluchistan bear, lives in Iran with relatively short, coarse hair, often reddish-brown rather than black. This endangered species is found in three provinces: Hormozgan, Kerman and Sistan-Baluchestan, with the largest population reportedly in Bashagard and Roudan counties in Hormozgan.
