Cusco, Department of Cusco, Peru
Unfortunately it’s been over a month since I wrote my last blog (see Studying Bears in Peru). I’m sorry for the delay, and I’ll try to post more frequently in the future! Due to problems with the generation of hydroelectricity for Quince Mil, the town is subject to rolling blackouts, which means that my Internet access is reduced by about 50 percent.

While based in Quince Mil in early September, I began working with my collaborator, Dr. John Janovec of BRIT (Botanical Research Institute of Texas) to build relationships with local people. John has invested a lot of energy in building trusted relationships with local people, which has been very useful for me and which will be necessary for the conservation of Andean (spectacled) bears in this area.

While talking to members of different villages, it became clear that there are Andean bears above Quince Mil. However, bears are coming into conflict with humans and their economic interests, and there is still some human-caused mortality of bears in the region. In some parts of southeast Peru, most people are recent immigrants and have no emotional, ethical, or philosophical interest in conservation. However, in the area around and above Quince Mil there are many families who settled there several generations ago. Because of their long tenure, these families have an interest in conserving natural resources, partially as a way to maintain the status quo, which is the only way they know of to maintain their way of life. Although they’re interested in the economic opportunities that may be offered by the Interoceanic Highway, they’re also concerned about the conservation challenges and economic changes it poses. The San Diego Zoo and BRIT are hoping to foster this nascent conservation ethic as we develop the Andean bear program.

I spent three days in the forest above the village of Capiri hiking and camping with John and his team and two local men we hired as guides. Although we spent most of our time hiking to and from bear habitat, we saw some magnificent forests. Our guides have spent their entire lives farming and working in the transitional forests and foraging in the cloud forests and the grasslands above. From their conversation it’s clear that they’ve encountered bears numerous times and have seen evidence of behaviors that are not well studied in any wild bears, especially the tropical bears. For example, these men described bear footprints sunken deep into the soil, high on a ridge. This may be evidence of bear scent marking, which is more complex than the simple tree rubbing you may think of as bear marking behavior. The terrain we traversed is rugged, and logistics will be an ongoing challenge to us, but only a few kilometers from the road there are virtually untouched cloud forests. Although we have not yet seen evidence of live bears, we plan to return in mid-October for an extended investigation. In the meantime, assistants are establishing a few basic trails to expedite our travel.

After dark one evening while camping, I realized that I’ve forgotten everything I once knew about the constellations visible in the Southern Hemisphere. In a strange way, trying to interpret evidence of bears in the cloud forest makes me feel like an ancient astronomer, trying to make sense of the stars. I look forward to having a better sense of where I’m at, and where the bears are at, by late October.

Russ Van Horn is a senior researcher in the San Diego Zoo’s Applied Animal Ecology Division.

Posted in Bear Awareness, Conservation, Default, Field Studies, General | Link to this post

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