active for 54–57% of daylight hours, and more active during summer (60%) and fall/winter (60%) than spring (47%). They are primarily active during the day in the spring and summer; and increasingly active at night in the fall/winter when acorns are abundant. They are solitary and usually move around extensively except during the mating season or when caring for cubs. Formosan bears are also the only bears on the planet that make temporary nests. Although they look clumsy and slow, Formosan black bears can easily outrun humans, reaching speeds of per hour. They are skilled at swimming and climbing, as well. Because of their endangered species status and their habit of avoiding humans, Formosan black bears are rarely seen in the wild. In most encounters the bear retreats and runs away from humans. Even though bears can be aggressive, they rarely attack humans without provocation. Reproduction As solitary animals, Formosan black bears do not stay in fixed shelters, except for females during their breeding period. The bear's courtship period is very brief. A male trails after a female for a few days. After mating, they return to their solitary lives. Females reach sexual maturity at age 3–4 and males reach sexual maturity at age 4–5, usually one year later than females. Mating is usually from June to August and pregnancy lasts for 6–7 months. Thus, wild females usually give birth between December and the following February. Each birth produces 1–3 cubs. Cubs will be nursed by mother for about six months. When they are strong enough to leave the den, bear cubs will remain with the mother for approximately two years, until the mother enters the next cycle of estrus and drives the cubs off. This forms the 2-year reproductive cycle of Formosan black bears. Conservation Hunter and hunted Formosan black bears (台灣黑熊) and Formosan clouded leopards (台灣雲豹) — two of the largest terrestrial mammals on the island of Taiwan — used to roam over the ranges and mountains of Taiwan. However, while the leopard is now extinct, the bear, though endangered, has survived. According to research by the Institute of Wildlife Conservation, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, this may be due to the myths and traditional taboos of Taiwanese aborigines. Bunun people call black bears Aguman or Duman, which means the devil. If a Bunun hunter's trap accidentally traps a bear, he has to build a cottage