Bear Sanctuary
An Andean bear sanctuary
is a dream which is now starting to become reality, thanks to our
supporters. For some bears, due to disability, illness or
old age, release is not a feasible option as they
simply would not survive in the wild. In these cases, we plan
to give them spacious enclosures at the sanctuary with natural
vegetation where they can live peacefully. The
specialised wildlife
sanctuary will also be a safe place for the rehabilitation
of rescued bear
cubs.
The bear
sanctuary will
serve as a centre for education about the bears and their needs in
terms of habitat and conservation, for both local communities
and
overseas tourists. Andean bears are vulnerable to
extinction, mostly due to habitat loss and illegal hunting.
Little is known about the species and there is much more to
learn. Researchers will be able to observe bears in
the sanctuary, to learn more about bear
behavior and ecology
and use this
information to better understand the conservation needs of wild
bears.
Construction on the
sanctuary is now underway! The first cage is nearly finished.
We've temporarily had to halt construction due to heavy rain, but
are hoping the weather will clear again before the rainy season starts
in earnest. We're making a start with the
funds we have, but a bear sanctuary
of
this type will be costly and we continue to seek funds for
construction.
We received a donation thanks to
Ecuavisa, the program Celebrities and Pets, for which we
are very grateful, and bought land last year, but our
plans to arrange access to it didn't work out as we had hoped.
In April 2011 we were fortunate enough to find the ideal
site, in Las Palmas de Cosanga, between Baeza and Cosanga in Napo
Province in Ecuador. Thanks to help from our donors, we have
bought 5 hectares of forested
hillside, perfect for bears, and are building cages and other
infrastructure.
The sanctuary will be known as the Iznachi Bear Santuary. The
sanctuary
site is in the Cantón of Quijos. Iznachi is the
word for
bear in the old language of the Quijos people, who lived in this area
before the invasion of the Spanish conquistadores. We also
have a
beautiful logo for the Sanctuary, designed by Rebecca Hamilton based on
a drawing by Toby Shephard.
We started the campaign
for the bear sanctuary on 29th
October 2010 and are making good progress. We are especially
proud that Beth Klemick ran a half marathon, in honour of
Bandit the Andean bear who passed away in 2010, with donations going to
the Andean Bear Sanctuary Project. We were challenged by Tc
Daibhison
to raise $1,000 by the end of May, helped on by a FUNraiser event by
Project Hope which raised $500 towards that, and given another $500
from a generous supporter when we succeeded. We also met Dawn
Edwards' challenge to raise $500 and win $100 from Trevor Roge, and
exceeded Barbara Bey's birthday wish challenge to raise $100.
Grateful
thanks to all our donors.
Later, we plan to build
more bear enclosures, a clinic, a feedstore and an education centre
where
visitors can learn more about Andean bears. When we have
appropriate
accommodation, we will be able to accept volunteers to help with
construction and planting suitable trees and plants to cultivate food
for the bears.
Donate for the Andean
Bear Sanctuary with PayPal
here:
Andean
Bear Conservation Project: Bear Sanctuary
A sanctuary where the Andean Bear Conservation Project can care for
spectacled bears which cannot be liberated and rehabilitate rescued
orphaned bear cubs.
