GILGIT, Nov 2: The population of brown bear, which is one of the rare species in the world, has marked an increase over the past one decade in the Deosai plateau, an official of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said on Sunday.

He said the plateau spanned over an area of 3,000sq-km and was situated at an altitude of 13,500 above the sea-level and offered an ideal habitat for the brown bear.

The official said in 1993 there were only 16 brown bears in Deosai but their population had now increased to 30, mainly due to protective measures adopted by various NGOs and the Northern Areas forest department.

He said the brown bear had a life expectancy of 30 years, weighs 60 to 80kg in case of female and 120 to 150kg in case of male. They were declared endangered specie due to poaching in the past.

He said other rare species of wild animals including Himalayan Ibex, snow leopard, red fox, Ladakhi urial (Marcopolo sheep) and falcons were also found in the region.