However, this nest-type structure can also be built at ground level and consists of a pile of leaves and branches. Population data are sketchy, but some estimates suggest fewer than 3,000 spectacled bears may remain in the wild today. Little did I knew, within seconds I was peaking, a big animal run crushing away from just a couple of yards from where I was; I assume it was the bear waiting for me to walk by so it gets back on the trail and continue on the direction it was initially going. <]/Prev 391829/XRefStm 900>> Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia. (enter current year). Still excited about the experience, I kept on going to my survey trail and stopped at the point the bear took to the woods, searching through the foliage to see if I could still catch a final glimpse at a distance. Material published in peruaves.org is protected by Copyright Laws. There are believed to be fewer than 10,000 of these bears left across the northern Andes. They are highly endangered due to habitat fragmentation that caused bears to lose critical feeding areas. Before, the bears we studied were in the highlands, the grasslands, not forests, and bears were known to be solitary animals.”. Since then, she says, she has recorded 40 different bears, based on photographs taken in the 6,500-hectare (16,061-acre) Maquipucuna reserve, identifying individuals from unique facial markings. “We heard, anecdotally, there were bears here and that people hunted them.”. Molina is sceptical of the numbers recorded by Justicia, although he recorded 19 bears in the reserve in one season in 2009 and said 15 were spotted within two months in 2017 inside the reserve boundaries. Growing up, the mention of a Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatus) would bring to mind images of a terribly sad and bored animal confined to a circus cage. For three years, I spent several months each year collecting information towards my master thesis in the lush Andean forest of Southeast Peru. Deep in the Maquipucuna cloud forest, two hours drive from Ecuador’s capital, Quito, rare Andean bears come together for a few weeks each year to feast on the wild avocados ripening atop mist-shrouded trees. All the remaining species are Asian. The Andean bear is the only living species of bear native to South America. The Spectacled Bear is the closest living kin of the short-faced bears of the Middle Pleistocene to […] This map shows the overlapping habitats of Polar, Brown, Black, Sun, Panda, Spectacled, Asian, and Sloth Bears. They can come and feed for weeks.”. vulnerable on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature red list. I did not want to run because I knew or thought I knew, that if one runs many animals will sense you are afraid and will come after you. xref trailer © 2020 WWF - World Wide Fund For Nature© 1986 Panda Symbol WWF – World Wide Fund For Nature (formerly World Wildlife Fund)® “WWF” is a WWF Registered Trademark Creative Commons license. 0000000900 00000 n The locations of spectacled bear sign and the boundaries of undisturbed areas were also plotted on the map. We still don’t know how the bears decided to come to Maquipucuna. Cloud forests are found between 1,800 and 3,200 m and páramos from 3,200 to 3,500 m, although they may reach 3,800 m. Currently, there is an ongoing rescue and re-introduction program aimed to reinforce the existing bear population in northern Peru. With the exception of the polar bear, bears most commonly inhabit  forested areas although several species inhabit or seasonally use other areas.