Ranger Joel Vallejos Sharing a Pacay with Cholita

This peaceful image of ranger Joel Vallejos and bear Cholita sharing a Pacay, is the result of a 25-years long effort of habitat restoration in the Chaparrí Ecological Reserve. However, this does not reflect the general condition of the Andean bear, now endangered by habitat destruction, and illegal hunting reducing the population species very quickly.
Andean bears are now protected by international trade laws, but they are still illegally hunted for their meat, fat, and body parts. No one knows how many of these bears remain.
To offset this condition the Muchik Santa Catalina Rural Community of Chongoyape was created, which is the first privately owned of its kind. By receiving bears coming from circuses, mother kills or other forms of illegal hunting, the rangers created a model for reintegrating the bears into their natural habitat.
In the background of the image you can see an electric fence, designed back in 1999, to contain bears in a harmoniously integrated way in the landscape and to progressively lead them towards the open space. Oposite of a cage, the fence becomes a symbol to the way to freedom. The result of this process has been so effective that today, in 2024, in an area of 10 km2 have been spotted up to 40 different bears.