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News from Hacienda YanahurcoBy: Armando Castellanos, Director, Andean Bear Research Project (FUNDEBO) and Andean Bear Foundation
The Yanahurco Hacienda also contains a number of species in danger of extinction, including the Andean Bear (Tremarctos ornatus), condor (Vultur gryphus), Andean tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), puma (Puma concolor), Dwarf deer (Pudu mephistophiles) and the mountain cat (Oncifelis colocolo) to name but a few.
Leo and Beto are sub-adult bears that we intend to release in Hacienda Yanahurco. The British Broadcasting Corporation [BBC] has sponsored the rehabilitation and release of these bears. The BBC initially proposed constructing a large enclosure that would later be used by the project as a bear sanctuary. This enclosure will be constructed by young British children (12 to 15 years old) in mid – July 2006. The process will be filmed and shown in the UK in a series called “Serious Andes”. However, the financial generosity of Marshall Corwin (Senior Producer) towards the conservation of the Andean Bear will allow us to not only build the bear sanctuary, but also allow Leo and Beto to be returned to the wild at the end of July. Thanks on behalf of the bears to the BBC! If you would like to receive more information about “Serious Andes”, please contact Marshall Corwin, marshall.corwin@bbc.co.uk. The Second Opportunity Rescue Center (a member of our project), received an anonymous donation to construct a small enclosure in Hacienda Yanahurco for our female bear cub Marcia. We hope to build this enclosure during April this year. After the male bears are released, we hope that the large enclosure will be used by Marcia, and two other adult bears. However, we need volunteers who will be able to care for and feed the bears. They will also need to be able withstand the harsh climatic conditions faced at Hacienda Yanahurco. We will be placing a Yanahurco volunteer packet on our website soon. We hope you can take part.
Yanahurco is a unique place where truly wild animals are easily spotted. Animals frequently seen are the Andean Bear, Condors, foxes (Pseudalopex culpaeus), eagles (Geranoaetus melanoleucus), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and wild horses We would appreciate your comments and suggestions on this idea. |
Hacienda Yanahurco is located on the eastern slopes of the Cotopaxi volcano (the highest active volcano in the world) and is surrounded by the Cotopaxi National Park and the Antisana Ecological Reserve. Yanahurco is the largest privately owned ranch in Ecuador (approximately 24 750 hectares in area). The main habitats within this area are cloud forest, upper- montane forest and paramo (high altitude grassland).
Since the release of Colleen on October 31 2005 in the Hacienda, she has been tracked from the air on a number of occasions by Jorge Anhalzer, a professional Ecuadorian photographer and project collaborator. Jorge’s reports indicate that Colleen continues to move further away from her release site. On the 6 March 2006, Jorge heard radio signals from Colleen’s collar, indicating that she is still alive and adapting to her new home four months after her release. The success of Colleen’s release (including her continued survival and lack of contact with humans) has encouraged us in the future release of bears in the Yanahurco Hacienda and other protected areas in Ecuador.
The Andean Bear project has applied to various conservation donor organizations for funds to purchase GPS collars (which are very expensive). The extra GPS collars are needed to track male bears. Regrettably, we have not managed to secure funding for GPS collars through these organizations. As an alternative, we are considering creating an ecotourism program within the Yanahurco Hacienda to raise funds to purchase GPS collars. Activities would include horse riding, fishing, mountain biking, camping and the chance to experience this beautiful and wild area.