Asian black bear
Five black bear populations, occurring in Kyushu, Shikoku, West-Chugoku, East-Chugoku and Kii areas, were listed as endangered by the Environmental Agency in the Japanese Red Data Book in 1991. Small isolated populations in the Tanzawa and Shimokita areas of mainland Honshū were listed as endangered in 1995. Beyond recognising these populations as endangered, there is still a lack of efficient conservation methods for Japanese black bears.
Brown bear
Brown bears usually dominate other bear species in areas where they coexist. Due to their smaller size, American black bears are at a competitive disadvantage to brown bears in open, unforested areas. Although displacement of American black bears by brown bears has been documented, actual interspecific killing of American black bears by brown bears has only occasionally been reported. Confrontation is mostly avoided due to the American black bear's diurnal habits and preference for heavily forested areas, as opposed to the brown bear's largely nocturnal habits and preference for open spaces. Where they do not live in close proximity to grizzly bears, and especially where found near human habitations, American black bears may become, to a larger extent, nocturnal. Brown bears may also kill Asian black bears, though the latter species probably largely avoids conflicts with the brown bear due to similar habits and habitat preferences to the American black species. Brown bears will eat the fruit dropped from trees by the Asian black bear, as they themselves are too large and cumbersome to climb. Improbably, in the Himalayas, brown bears are reportedly intimidated by Asian black bears in confrontations. However, the Himalayan black bears are reportedly more aggressive towards humans than the Himalayan brown bear, and the latter is one of the smaller types of brown bear, though still somewhat larger than the Asian black bear. In Siberia, the opposite is true, and Asian black bears are not known to attack people, but brown bears are. Both species of black bear seem to be most vulnerable to predatory attacks by brown bears when the latter species leaves hibernation sooner in early spring and ambushes the smaller ursids in their dens.