In May of 2008, the polar bear was classified as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. This historic listing was heralded as a timely and necessary protection for this magnificent animal. But as climate change was identified as the primary threat to the persistence of the polar bear, the legislation clearly eliminated any possibility of using the listing to initiate or enforce regulations that would curb greenhouse gas emissions. For those of us involved in polar bear conservation, we were left scratching our heads. How was this listing any more than window dressing if there was no way for it to drive the changes that would promote polar bear conservation?
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Russ Van Horn is currently in Peru to study Andean (spectacled) bears. Read his previous post, Andean Bears and Cameras.

An e-mail was posted recently on the Andean bear e-mail network that got me thinking about the question “Why do we care about Andean bears?” I realized that I was not only thinking about this question, but also pondering “Why do we care about the conservation of nature?” I’m not sure I can clearly answer these questions, and I’m sure I won’t say anything that hasn’t been said before by someone else, but here goes. In this post I’ll focus on the reasons for (bear) conservation presented from a scientific viewpoint, but there are other reasons for caring about conservation. I’ll write about those in my next post.
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Last week we released the second group of 50 kangaroo rats (see previous post, Kangaroo Rats Keep Us Hopping). We placed sand scented with mountain lion pee at scent stations for 25 of them. The other 25 were among sand piles wet with water. We are using remote cameras to take still and video images of any predators that visit the site.
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San Diego Zoo researchers are in Peru to study Andean (or spectacled) bears. Read a previous post, To See A Bear.

We awake in the predawn twilight, rouse ourselves out of our sleeping bags, down some coffee, and head for the viewpoint, hoping to spot last night’s bear making the ascent back up from the waterhole. José begins to gesticulate wildly, pointing to a dark form moving slowly up the face of the cliff.
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For the third consecutive year, the staff and interns at the Maui Bird Conservation Center (MBCC), a captive propagation facility of the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program, found themselves floating among a sea of excited school children and curious visitors. On September 26, we opened our doors to the public to celebrate Nene Awareness Day, a day recognized by Hawaii to honor its state bird, the nene.
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San Diego Zoo researchers are in Peru to study Andean (or spectacled) bears. Read a previous post, Dry-forest Bears of Peru.

It’s early morning, and the cool night air quickly burns away as the sun appears above the ridge of the mountain to the east of the camp. The light that accompanies the heat, however, reveals a spectacular scene. Still in my sleeping bag, I sit up and admire the view. Across a narrow valley, sheer cliffs drop down from the ridge and disappear below. A few somewhat gentler slopes support some vegetation. Javier points out an orange-ish post among the small trees: a posayo tree, reduced to a shattered stump by a foraging Andean (spectacled) bear.
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The kangaroo rat translocation project has kept our research team hopping this summer (see post Kangaroo Rats: Our Own Backyard). We conducted our first release of nearly 50 animals in early July. But the temperatures have soared at the Southwestern Riverside Multispecies Reserve in Temecula, California, reaching triple digits almost daily for the last couple of months. While this isn’t unusual, it means that we have had to wait to move our second group of kangaroo rats. With predicted temperatures cooling next week, our team has shifted into high gear.
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The San Diego Zoo has two researchers studying bear habitat in Peru. Read a previous post, Andean Bears and Cameras.

Slowly, slowly, we trudge up the makeshift trail, recently machetted along the ridge. The sun beats down, the thorns scratch our arms, our calf muscles strain to carry us up another 100 feet, then another. But our spirits lift as we rise higher and higher, leaving behind civilization in the valley below, and enter the domain of the spectacled bear.
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Many of you have asked if we are planning to put our young panda girls Su Lin and Zhen Zhen together for a full-contact playdate. I wanted to offer some insight into the San Diego Zoo’s Panda Team’s thinking as to why this will not happen for these girls.

You may be familiar with our constant references to the fact that the panda is a solitary animal. You may then be surprised to hear that this was not a factor in determining not to put these two bears together. In fact, we readily acknowledge that when pandas are young, they are more apt to be social than when they are adults. (more…)

Saturday, October 10, the San Diego Zoo is holding the 4th annual Walk on the Wild Side presented by USA Fed Credit Union event. This year the funds raised will go toward our work with our conservation partner Polar Bears International. Thank you to all the teams that have signed up to walk and to everyone who has pledged a donation! Chinook, Kalluk, and Tatqiq wish your feet well.
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