From Captivity to Liberty.
The Story of two male Andean Bears’ journey to freedom.

By: David Jackson, Project coordinator, Andean Bear Project

On the 31st July 2006, two male bears, Leo and Beto were reintroduced into the wild in the Yanahurco Hacienda after over two years of rehabilitation since their rescue.

In June 2004, Leo was rescued from the Oyacachi community, east of the Cayambe volcano, a couple of hours northeast of Quito. Beto was rescued in the Carchi province on the border with Colombia a couple of months later.

From the moment of their rescue, the plan for both cubs was to liberate them when they were big enough. This is an account of their journey from facing a life of misery in captivity to their emotional release to the wild, where they belong, just a few days ago.

• A Lot to Learn
• A Dangerous Journey
• Final Preparations
• FREEDOM!!

Acknowledgements

I would like to say a sincere and powerful thank you to all the people that have done such amazing things in contribution to the bears’ freedom. This comes, first and foremost, on behalf of Leo and Beto, and also from Armando, Leonardo, and I.

Thank you so much to the BBC Serious Andes team for their kind funds and excellent work in the construction of the rehabilitation enclosure. This goes especially to the children who worked night and day to build the excellent rehabilitation enclosure, which will be now used for future bear liberations. Cheers guys!!!

Thank you to Santa Martha rescue centre, their staff and all their volunteers, for caring for and providing food for the bears over the past two years. Thank you to Karla Villavicencio and Donna Caswell for their hard work in the bear rehabilitation over the past 4 months. And a special thank you to Ingeniero Fernando Cobo and the Hacienda Yanahurco, for permitting us to use their land as a release site.