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Project Results

The project results in terms of data obtained from this study are vital for a better understanding of the behavior, environmental requirements and ecological role of this species.  The data should help environmental authorities and NGOs make appropriate decisions in relation to programs of environmental education, handling of bear-human conflict in local communities, and the habitat conservation through the design, creation and expansion of protected natural areas and wildlife corridors.

This project discovered that Andean bears in the Intag region of Ecuador are more active during the day than at night.  Previously, it had been thought that the bears were nocturnal, but we know now that this is not the case.  The graph below shows activity levels from midnight to midnight.

Preliminary project results of a three-year radio telemetry study showed that the size of the home range of a wild female Andean bear is around 29km² and for males, 109km², using the Minimum Convex Polygon method.  This is larger than previously thought and we believe that these figures are still an underestimate and the real range sizes may be even larger.  These important results guide our decisions on suitable sites for liberating rehabilitated captive Andean bears, which leads to a greater success rate with bear reintroductions.  Currently, this project is the only one in the world successfully liberating Andean bears.  

Habitat conservation can also be guided by the project results as we learn which areas are most important for the bears, for example the "bear corridors" on the map below.  Male bears use movement corridors, especially along ravines between one valley of "bear country" and another, so these "corridors" are crucial to avoid inbreeding in isolated bear populations.  Within a valley, the bears tend to move along ridges.

More detailed project results can be found in Andean hear home ranges in the Intag region, Ecuador Castellanos, A. 2011.  Ursus 22:65–73 and other published articles and bear papers.

Andean Bear Conservation Project: Project Results
The Andean Bear Conservation Project results are used to inform the state and other stakeholders in their quest to resolve human-bear conflict,  conserve bear habitat and carry out successful bear reintroductions.