Spectacled Bear Conservation (SBC) is a team of researchers and

conservationists The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the ...

working to study and protect the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

spectacled bear (''Tremarctos ornatus''), also known as the

Andean The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S l ...

bear. Spectacled bears are the only surviving species of bear native to South America, and the only surviving member of the subfamily

Tremarctinae The Tremarctinae or short-faced bears is a subfamily of Ursidae that contains one living representative, the spectacled bear (''Tremarctos ornatus'') of South America, and several extinct species from four genera: the Florida spectacled bear ( ...

, the short-faced bears. Their range is the Andean Mountains from Venezuela to Chile.

History

The organization began in 2006 when Canadian conservation biologist Robyn Appleton recognized that little research had been done on the spectacled bear. She connected with former hunter turned conservationist Javier Vallejos to go into the field and conduct the first observational study on wild spectacled bears. They discovered the first active maternal den site, and fitted the first wild Peruvian spectacled bear with a GPS collar. The organization was formally established as a Canadian non-profit in 2009.

Programs

Research

SBC conducts research to better understand the behaviors, range, foraging, mating, dispersal, and reproductive ecology of the spectacled bear. This is done using

camera trap A camera trap is a camera that is automatically triggered by a change in some activity in its vicinity, like presence of an animal or a human being. It is typically equipped with a motion sensor – usually a passive infrared (PIR) senso ...

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...

collars, remote video surveillance and collection of genetic samples such as hair. In the summer of 2023, SBC began a two year study of the spectacled bear population in the Machu Picchu historical sanctuary. The project is being done in conjunction with the Peruvian government. The data from camera traps, bear collaring, and continued monitoring will help balance decisions for conservation actions and the growing tourism activities in the area.

Conservation outreach

SBC staff spends time training local people in research methods and in 2010 the El Centro de Conservación de Batán Grande (Conservation Centre of Batán Grande) was established as a place for local educators and conservationists to conduct workshops and presentations for local villagers. SBC also formed a cooperative of women who live in Batan Grande that produce hand-felted animals to financially assist the local community as well as connect it with the conservation efforts. In October 2015 Robyn Appleton representing the Spectacled Bear Conservation Society - Peru, was a featured guest speaker at the annual

Wildlife Conservation Network The Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) is a United States-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that protects endangered wildlife by supporting conservationists in the field who promote coexistence between wildlife and people. WCN does this by ...

Expo and in 2016, SBC was formally introduced as an official WCN partner.

Protection of habitat

In part due to SBC's discoveries and outreach efforts, the

Peruvian Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century; Peruvian p ...

government established a wildlife refuge, El Parque Arqueológico y Ecológico de Batán Grande which joins another protected park in hopes of extending a

conservation corridor A wildlife corridor, habitat corridor, or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development, or logging). This allows an exchange of individuals between ...

References

External links

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wildnet.org

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Spectacled Bear Conservation Society Organizations established in 2006 International environmental organizations Endangered species Wildlife conservation organizations Conservation projects