Armando Castellanos
Armando Castellanos is
the President of the Andean Bear Foundation and manages the
Andean
Bear Project in Ecuador. Armando is frequently consulted by
the
Ecuadorian Ministry of the Environment on matters concerning Andean
bears and they
recently contracted him to lead the development of Ecuador's National
Strategy for the Conservation of the Andean Bear (PDF
download, in Spanish, large file).
Bear biologist Armando
Castellanos has
been researching Andean bears since 1995 and the project has captured a
total of 19 wild Andean bears. Armando was the first person
to
successfully
reintroduce Andean bears and this is currently the only group in
the world successfully returning
captive Andean bears to the wild. Armando has now
reintroduced 15
bears to live in the wild. When Armando began releasing bears
fifteen years ago, there was no
information available. Based on his experiences, Armando has
now
written the Guide to the Rehabilitation, Liberation and
Tracking of
Andean Bears (PDF download, in Spanish, large file).
The extensive list of
Armando Castellanos' scientific publications include various Andean
bear articles in English and articles
in Spanish about Andean bears. Some of Armando's
research is cited in the bibliography of the IUCN
Red List assessment of the Andean bear as a species
vulnerable to extinction. Armando's Andean
bear research
has been supported by organisations including the International
Association for Bear Research and Management (IBA), World Society for
the Protection of Animals (WSPA), the Wildlife Conservation
Society
and the Zoo Conservation Outreach Group (ZCOG), Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
and Cleveland Zoo. Armando and his
Andean Bear Project have been filmed for documentaries by the BBC and
others.
In addition to training
some of the volunteers
on the Andean Bear Project, Armando Castellanos also runs radio
telemetry workshops for Ecuadorian biology students and
mentors
young biologist Andrés Laguna. Armando takes a
holistic view of Andean
bear conservation
and implements various initiatives to reduce human bear conflict, such
as compensation for maize eaten by bears and support for poor rural
communities. He also offers research
opportunities for young biologists to develop their skills,
as well as carrying out his own scientific research into the
bears.
Armando Castellanos is a
member of the
IUCN / SSC Bear Specialist Group, Andean Bear Expert Team, Captive Bear
Expert Team, Human-Bear
Conflict Expert Team and Reintroduction Specialist Group.
Armando
has a degree in Biology & Chemistry.
Armando spent his early
years as a biologist studying the mountain tapir, Tapirus pinchaque,
which shares some of the same habitat as the Andean bear.
Armando
is still recognised as a tapir expert, is a member of the IUCN
/
SSC Tapir Specialist Group and is currently working as a researcher for
their mountain tapir project in Ecuador. You will find
Armando's
name in the
list of assessors on the IUCN Red List assessment of the mountain
tapir as an endangered species.
Armando
Castellanos
Andean bear expert and biologist, Armando Castellanos leads the Andean
Bear Project in Ecuador and is President of the Andean Bear Foundation
