Andean Bear Conservation and Research
Building Conservation Capacity in Peru
Andean bear
Andean bears are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as "vulnerable" to extinction and are classified as ‘threatened with extinction" under Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Very little is known about their ecology and behavior. By building upon work with captive bears and our institutional knowledge, we have a fantastic opportunity to advance conservation science of Andean bears.
Dr. Russ Van Horn is leading this project to characterize critical aspects of the foraging, mating, dispersal, and reproductive ecology of the Andean (spectacled) bear, an enigmatic species at high risk of extinction in the wild due to habitat degradation and fragmentation and human-wildlife conflict. This project is designed to investigate the ecology and behavior of bears in cloud forests and identify fundamental constraints on this bear’s conservation. Improved understanding of Andean bear ecology and behavior will allow conservation planners to build upon a solid empirical framework, and an understanding of direct (e.g., mortality) and indirect (e.g., displacement, reduced dispersal) roadway impacts upon Andean bears should result in improved conservation planning in the future.
The impact of roadways on wildlife can usually be assessed only through retrospective inference, but conservation researchers have a singular opportunity to collect data before and after construction of a major highway. It is also important to form closer positive bonds between Peruvian people and Andean bears and to support the intellectual infrastructure of conservation science in Peru. Thus, Peruvian students will join the project and will be trained in the field and laboratory.
Andean bears are seldom seen. This project involves the use of camera traps to record images of individual Andean bears (which have distinctive facial markings) to obtain population estimates and to build mathematical models to understand why some sites are used by bears but others are not. Hair traps (which are essentially self-actuated back scratchers) will also be used to collect genetic, dietary, and spatial data from individual bears. In the future, GPS radio-collars will be used to obtain fine-resolution movement and activity data of selected bears.
This project should result in a more comprehensive knowledge of the biology and ecology of Andean bears, management recommendations for in situ and ex situ populations, a method for reducing human-bear conflict, and greater awareness of the conservation issues surrounding Andean bears and their habitats, both in Peru and the United States.
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Read Dr. Van Horn's field studies blogs:
