Andean Bears: Peppers and Maize
Posted at 10:26 am November 4, 2008 by Russ Van Horn
The road between Puerto Maldonado and Cusco runs along the bottom of the valley. The elevational range in this photo is about 5,600 to 9,200 feet.
I’ve returned to Cusco from Quince Mil to meet Ron Swaisgood, my boss and head of applied animal ecology research for the San Diego Zoo. (See previous blog, Wild Panda Research Helps Andean Bear Conservation) We’re both giving presentations at the Second International Symposium on the Andean Bear in Lima in just over a week, and Ron’s come to Peru a few days early so he can visit the Andean bear field site.
I haven’t been working in this region for very long, but I can already see changes occurring due to the construction of the Interoceanic Highway. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that there have probably been more changes along this section of the road during the last eight months than in the last eight years!
Most villages and towns are located in valley bottoms, through which runs the road from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado.
There are many questions we hope to answer about Andean bear ecology and behavior through the Andean bear program, but we already know the two greatest threats to Andean bear populations across their range: habitat loss, and habitat fragmentation. Both of these threats are the result of human economic activities, as are other threats to individual Andean bears, such as hunting in retaliation for crop damage or for harvest of the bear itself.
Where the slopes near the road are steep, but not too steep, plots of forest are cleared to make fields for growing peppers.
In the region where I’m working, there are few cows, so there’s little potential or perceived conflict between bears and cows. However, bears are known to raid and damage crops in the area, such as maize. Most of the maize fields I’ve seen have been relatively low in the valleys, close to the existing road. Where the slopes are stable and not too steep, there are fields higher on the sides of the valleys through which the road runs. These fields are for growing peppers, which can be harvested many times during a single year. I haven’t heard of any bears raiding pepper fields, so perhaps the bears find these peppers to be a little too spicy for their taste, as I do. There may not be any conflict between humans and bears over pepper plants, but clearing the forest for pepper cultivation does contribute to habitat loss and fragmentation.
I fear that the greatest impacts of the Interoceanic Highway will be an influx of people and changes in the way that people use the local habitats. Although our main goal in the Andean bear program is to scientifically answer questions about the biology of the Andean bear, I hope that we can influence thinking and planning for the conservation of wildlife habitat. I empathize with the desire of local people to seek economic opportunities, but I believe that stable and managed local economic development does not need to come at the cost of healthy wildlife populations.
Russ Van Horn is a senior researcher at the San Diego Zoo.
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November 9th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Russ — I’m fascinated to learn of your research on the Andean spectacled bear — an elusive creature even for scientists to study, it seems. I first became interested in this bear when I was looking into the symbolism of the “ukuku” — a masked figure in Andean danzas (dance-dramas) which is said to be half-man, half-bear. The role of the ukukus is danced by young men in the Andes, who wear long woolly robes and knitted masks.
The ukuku figure is very important in Andean mythology, which is intriguing given how rarely people see these bears.
Have you caught sight of any in your fieldwork?
– Barb of An American in Lima
January 6th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Although I didn’t see any wild Andean bears during this field season in Perú, I’m not too surprised that I didn’t given how reclusive they are.
I’ve seen the ukukus in a couple of dances, and like you I’ve found them intriguing. Other biologists have pursued this further than I. In fact, one of the presentations at this November’s symposium on the Andean bear focused on the role of the Andean bear in the Andean culture.
February 27th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
I would have enjoyed seeing that presentation on Andean culture and “el oso.” It is rather mysterious how the Andean bear came to be so central to Andean rituals given how rare they are compared to llamas and alpacas in Peru.
This June I’m returning to the pilgrimage of Qoyllur Rit’i and may follow a group of ukukus from a town near Sicuani, who make the pilgrimage on foot. (Strong guys!) I think that taking on the persona of the Andean bear gives strength, stamina and courage to the young men.
The question for a biologist is: Do Andean bears really demonstrate these traits? Or are they just projections by human beings?