The Andean Bear in Nature

This exhibition tells the story of the presence and the importance of Andean bears in the forest regeneration processes, where this animal is recognized as key factor for the balance of wildlife: forests and water. 

The results of the renaissance of the dry-wood landscape at Chaparrí, the first private conservation area of a Muchik community in Peru, were possible thanks to the positive relationship established between bears and humans. 

The gaze of Heinz Plenge, heritage photographer and co-founder of Chaparrí, through the following images, was able to capture the value and the beauty of this unique animal in many aspects. 

Hello there, I am Ukuku, a Bear of the Andean forest. I am unique because of the signs around my eyes, which give me the name “Spectacled Bear”. However, they also call me Ucumari Black Bear, Frontino Bear or the Andean Bear. I am the only bear living in South America. You can find me from the dry woods of the coast up to the highest mountains of the Andean Cordiliera and down again to the depths of the Amazon forest. 

I am very intelligent but shy and prefer lush and isolated areas. My diet is mainly vegetarian and I am the only bear not hibernating, because of the tropical climate, making food always available. 

My species, however, is in danger of extinction because of the fragmentation of our habitat and poaching. Come with me now to discover the secrets of my life and learn why it is so important to protect us and our habitat. 

At the age of about 4 to 7 years my parents will from time to time spend a courtship period of two weeks together, playing, fighting non-aggressive fights and having intercourse so that my mother gets pregnant. 

About 4 to 8.5 month later my mother will give birth to me and other 1 to 3 siblings in an isolated den where we will spend the first months of our lifes together with our mother.

As a baby I am so small that you can hold me in the palm of your hand, and I don’t resemble at all an adult bear: I am practically bald, have no teeth and am completely blind. 

Only at around 4 to 6 weeks my eyes start opening, allowing me to explore my den. When I reach 3 months, I am finally allowed to accompany my mother into the woods looking for food and when I get tired, I can ride on her back and enjoy the beautiful view of the forest. 

I grow up under the loving care of my mother but at the age of about one year I will go and look for my own territory and then spend most of my time alone. I only meet with peers for short mating periods and sometimes you can see me together with other bears when we find a site with a lot of delicious food. In this way we can live up to about 35 five years in captivity and probably a bit less in wildlife. 

Besides the Giant Panda I am the only bear species that uses vocal communication to interact with my peers. I use a large variety of sounds to express different things. When I feel curious or afraid I make sounds like “Kurrrrr”, while on top of trees I often use grunts like Tuutucttt or Eggmmmmm. When I fight for food, I tend to scream and when I am surprised, I use short blows. 

I am the only species of bear not hibernating. This is not necessary because I live in areas without seasons and can thus always find enough food. 

I am usually active during day, but in some areas like the Peruvian desert I might be night active. I like sleeping in tree cavities, on platforms built on trees, between large tree roots or in the cave of rock walls. 

When I don’t sleep, I spend most of my time eating, playing and walking around. Imagine, I can cover more than 30km a day. 

My sense of smell is extremely good. I can sense from the ground when trees carry ripe fruits and perceive females in heat at a distance of up to 30km. With my small ears I only have a moderate hearing and my vision is quite short, but living in dense forest I don’t really need a long sight. Here you can see me smelling a Pitahaya. 

I primarily eat vegetarian food. In the areas where I live there are so many delicious plants available that I do not really need to hunt other animals to survive. 

Beyond fruits I eat bromeliads, tree bark, crop plants, cacti and honey. However, from time to time I also eat some small animals like insects, fishes or rodents. 

Here you can see me delicately peeling a Pacay. In the dry woods I also eat a lot of Sapote which is fundamental because of its high protein content. Sometimes I also venture out to cornfields to eat some of the juicy corns, attracting the wrath of the farmers.

In the dry woods it can happen that it does not rain for up to 7 years. During these times it might be difficult to find fruits and other juicy plants. Even though not as delicious, I will then peel back tree bark and eat the nutritious second layer that often contains a lot of sugar and thus helps me survive in these difficult times. In order to be able to chew tree bark, my extremely strong jaws and wide and flat molars come in very handy. 

Even though I am mainly vegetarian I have not lost the ability to chase animals and will from time to time supplement my diet with meat from small rodents, birds, fishes, or insects. I am more a butcher than a predator and will only attack weak or already dead livestock. Even though only as little as 5% of my diet is composed of meat, I am the largest carnivores in South America. 

I play a fundamental role in keeping our forests alive. Do you know how? Simply by eating a lot of fruit and walking a lot. In this way I act as seed disperser and allow new fruit trees to grow all over the vast forests. 

I love trees and am a very good and fast climber. At the top I build platforms with branches, so that I can rest comfortably, store my collected fruits and hide from any unwanted glances. 

As gardener and reforester of the woods, I also give an important contribution to the conservation of water. The more cover of shrubs and trees is available, the better the environment can retain water, preventing it from evaporating. In this way there is more water available for everyone, also for you!

My favorite places for living are the very humid mountain and cloud forests. The wetter these forests are the more delicious food I can find there. However, I can live in a very wide range of habitat types and elevations: from coastal areas up to below permanent snow sites at around 4750 masl both in the Andean dry and cloud forests an in the Amazonian rainforests. 

I am the only species of bear living in south America and besides in Peru you can find me in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and the northwestern tip of Argentina.

I am not a predator, but I still protect my territory. Usually, I live alone so as not get into competition with my peers. If necessary, I chase intruders away with my paws and sharp claws. When I encounter humans, I am very cautious and tend to go back into the woods, remember I am very shy. I will only attack if I really feal threatened. 

Usually, I don’t inhabit in the same living space as humans but you might see me near fields with attractive food, because sometimes I can simply not resist to try some juicy corn, but I promise that I will not hurt anyone. 

Hello, my name is Milagros, and I am one of the most famous residents of the Chaparrí Ecological Reserve: humans even made a book and a movie about my story! As a baby, I survived an airplane crash in the middle of the Amazon forest and was saved by humans who took care of me. 

However, I always strived to gain my independence. Imagine, I invented around 23 ways to escape: I built bridges with branches of tree and climbed over any type of fence until I finally succeeded and found my way to the dry forest. 

There I had many children and grandchildren and never forgot to come back to my human friends to present them my family.

My species, who plays such a fundamental role in the conservation of forests, water and life, is today incredibly endangered. We need to create friendships between us, the Andean bears and you humans, to safeguard our species and our territory, which is also yours. 

Somebody has already done it: look at me with Joel sharing a Pacay in the Chaparrí Ecological Reserve, where nature is restored by the commitment of Andean community efforts.  

By simply telling my story to your friends, you too, can help change the narrative and the mindset of people and ultimately promote a peaceful and sustainable coexistence between us and the humans on this beautiful planet.