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Bear News

Recent news updates about the bear project:  
Another Bear Cub Rescued In late December, the Ministry of the Environment in Loja rescued a male Andean bear cub aged around 3 months, who was being kept as a pet after his mother was killed for meat.  Officials from the Ministry brought the cub to us in January.  He is named Mazharito, meaning "good little friend" in the Shuar language.  He is very tame and is currently in temporary accommodation being well cared for.  We hope to move Mazharito to the new sanctuary as soon as it is ready.
Construction Starts on Iznachi Bear Sanctuary Construction has now started on the Iznachi Bear Sanctuary.  Heavy rains are making the slope slippery and the work slow, but we are pushing ahead as fast as possible because we want to move Suyana, our rescued bear cub, to the sanctuary as soon as we can.  Many thanks to all who have donated to get us this far! 
Bear Cub Rescued In November we rescued a female Andean bear cub in the north of Ecuador.  She, her mother and a sibling were attacked by feral dogs, and the cub was seperated from her mother in the panic.  Villagers saved her from the dogs and put her in a guineapig hutch for safety.  Since it was not possible to reunite her with her mother, the Andean Bear Foundation took her to a safe location where she could be cared for properly.  Our online supporters voted to call the cub Suyana, which means hope.
Christmas Cards and 2012 Calendar Now on Sale  The 2011 Andean Bear Foundation Christmas card is now on sale, along with an alternatively-worded version, the 2011 Andean Bear Foundation Happy Holidays card.  Also available is the Andean Bears 2012 calendar, the result of our very successful calendar photo competition.  Many thanks to all the photographers, and to Rebecca Hamilton for design.
Satellite Collars Ready Two new satellite collars are now ready and we hope to soon fit them on Andean bears in the north of Ecuador.  The collars and the data they provide will help to understand more about cattle depredation by Andean bears.
Bubu Bear Liberated - Briefly Bubu bear was liberated again in September 2011 but returned again a few weeks later.  He is back in his cage and we are trying to arrange a helicopter to take him somewhere more remote for the next (and hopefully final) attempt.
New Board Members  The Andean Bear Foundation is delighted to welcome Rebecca Hamilton and Tracey Barnes to the Board of Directors.  Tracey is the Foundation’s new Registered Agent and Secretary while Rebecca becomes Treasurer. Tracey is an Andean bear keeper at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, DC and the Andean bears there have bred successfully under her care.  Rebecca is a former President of a wildlife rehabilitation organization and also brings her design skills - some of you may know her as the “Zazzlemeister” of our Andean Bear Zazzle store.  We welcome Rebecca and Tracey to the team and look forward to working with them both.
Andean Bear Calendar Photo Contest Winners  The judges had a hard task deciding between so many beautiful Andean bear images, but the winners of the Andean Bear Calendar Photo Contest are: Grand Prize: Susie Hewitt for her photo of Spook at Belfast Zoo.  Spook will be the cover bear on the new calendar.  Second Prize: Patricio Meza Saltos for his photo of Colleen and her cub, wild bears in Ecuador - Colleen was liberated by us in 2005, having been rescued as a cub, and is now, as Patricio's image shows, breeding successfully in the wild.  Third Prize: Beth Klemick for her photo of Bernardo as a cub at the Smithsonian National Zoo.  Congratulations to the winners, and many thanks to all of our photographers and judges.  Buy the 2012 Andean Bear Calendar.
Andean Bear Calendar Photo Contest  Entries have closed and the judges are now considering 87 beautiful images to decide which will make it into the calendar.  The panel of judges includes professional photographers, bear keepers, authors about bears, a captive bear husbandry expert, a teddy bear retailer, a leading wildlife veterinarian and an Andean bear biologist.  Many thanks to all our photographers and  judges.  Results will be announced on May 1st.  
Bubu returns - Bubu returned to Yanahurco Ranch and is now back in captivity.  It turns out he had not been left where we had requested, but considerably closer to the ranch.  We are now preparing to liberate him again, in the correct site.  More information on Bubu's page.
Site for Andean Bear Sanctuary Decided - The site for our Andean Bear Sanctuary has been decided, we have bought the first hectare of a planned five hectares in the beautiful area of Las Palmas de Cosanga, in Napo Province, and we hope to start construction very soon.  More details on the Andean Bear Sanctuary page.
Andean Bear Calendar Photo Contest  We are looking for beautiful photos of the Andean Bear, Tremarctos ornatus, to feature in a calendar that will increase awareness of this little-known bear.  Entries must be submitted by 15th April 2011.  Full details including rules and how to enter available in the PDFs Andean Bear Calendar Photo Contest, Concurso Fotográfico Oso Andino or Brillenbär Kalender Fotowettbewerb. Find your nearest zoo with Andean bears
Community education workshop - 35 children and 20 adults from the community of Pizan in Carchi Province in the north of Ecuador attended a very successful community workshop run by Andres Laguna of the Andean Bear Foundation in March 2011.  The community have lost cows in bear attacks and the workshop is the beginning of our relationship with them as we work to help them resolve human-bear conflict and find a way to co-exist with the bears.  Our first "Workshop Wednesday" online event on Facebook the week after raised sufficient funds for another workshop, to be held in April in the community of Tuquer.
Bubu is free! Bubu bear was returned to the wild on 9th March 2011 - more details on Bubu's page.
Chase Funding Has Arrived! The funding from the Chase competition finally arrived in December.  The money will be used for a range of projects including bear rehabilitation and liberation, research, investigation of livestock depredation by Andean bears, community education and the publication of project results.  Many thanks to everyone who voted for us!
World First: Andean Bear Den Found in Cloud Forest For the first time ever, we found an Andean bear maternity den in cloud forest.  We'd "lost" Frida, one of our radio collared research bears, for several weeks at the beginning of 2010 and when we tracked her down, she was in a den with a cub.  The maternity den was extremely well camouflaged and very inaccessible, but when we lowered researchers on ropes down the steep forested slope we were able to photograph the den.  This ground-breaking find was reported in the November 2010 issue of International Bear News.
Bubu's Big Event To raise awareness about the Andean bear and as part of the celebrations for World Animal Day (4th October), Bubu, our orphaned bear cub, held his Big Event.  Friends all over the world held social events during 1st to 4th October 2010 and joined us online.   The Event was a great success.  Find more information on Bubu's page or on his Facebook profile.
New Research Bear Collared In early September 2010, Enrique, a large male Andean bear, was fitted with a radio collar.  This means we are currently tracking a total of seven wild bears, 5 males and 2 females, in the Intag area of northern Ecuador.
Blood Analysis Article Published: The article "Hematological and serum biochemical values of Andean bears in Ecuador" was published in the January 2010 edition of the URSUS journal (21:115-120) and serves as a "databank" of values for use by researchers and vets caring for Andean bears. 
Our rescued Andean bear cub, Bubu, keeps his friends up to date with news of how his rehabilitation is going on Facebook - find Bubu Bear's Facebook Profile
News Archives
Older news can be seen at our blogspot:  http://andeanbearproject.blogspot.com
and in our previous newsletters:
Andean Bear Conservation Project News
Updates and news on the Andean Bear Conservation Project

Rescued Andean bear cub MazharitoConstruction starts on the bear sanctuary siteRescued Andean bear cub
Andean bears calendar 2012
Community education workshop in rural Ecuador
Andean bear maternity den in cloud forest
Capture of an Andean bear for research