Mother and Baby Spectacled Bears (Andean Bears)

The area of Chaparrí in northern Peru hosts the largest population of Spectacled bears (Andean Bear) in South America. They are the only living species of bear native to South America and follow follow mainly a vegetarian diet.
Heinz Plenge largely contributed to the preservation of this species, by recreating their natural habitat in the Dry Woods at Chaparrì allowing them the repopulate the area.
In the photographs the protective attitude of the mother and the loving and trusting gaze of the baby bear reproduce an emotional and intimate scene very similar to the human complicity between mother and child.