A Formosan black bear that was released to the wild on May 16 is adapting to its new surroundings, the Taitung Forest District Office said on Sunday, citing GPS data and satellite imagery.

The office made the announcement on Facebook following public queries about the one-year-old female bear’s condition.

The bear, named Mulas, is active in a habitat that is ideal for the species and rich in food resources, it said.

The cub was found in Haiduan Township’s Guangyuan Village in July last year.

Office personnel cared for the bear for 10 months, teaching it skills it would need to survive in the wild, such as hunting and cave-building.

The personnel then transported the cub to an area in the Central Mountain Range on a helicopter and released it, the office said.

Mulas was fitted with a collar that can transmit GPS data to track its movements following its release, it said

The collar is designed to fall off in about a year, it added.

The bear maintained a diurnal lifestyle, with occasional visits to rivers in the valleys for water, it said, citing GPS data.

Weather and terrain occasionally interfere with GPS data transmission, but 90 percent of the transmission efforts were successful, it said

The office added that it would continue to monitor Mulas’ movements for at least six months.

It said that it would not disclose Mulas’ exact location to prevent people from disturbing the cub.