Camera collar footage is shedding light on the hidden lives of Andean bears (Tremarctos ornatus), the sole surviving ursid in South America. A wild Andean bear in Peru was observed engaging in various behaviors, including eating soil or clay, courting females, and even cannibalizing a dead bear cub.

"It's incredibly challenging to spot an Andean bear," says Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya, a wildlife biologist at Amazon Conservation, a non-governmental organization in Cusco, Peru. Scientists estimate that fewer than 20,000 of these bears remain in the wild. "And it's even more difficult to observe their activities."

Despite their distinctive deep brown or black fur with bright 'spectacled' faces and their substantial weight of up to 340 pounds, these bears are elusive in the dense, steep forests of the Andes. While zoos and sanctuaries provide some insights into their behavior, it is their wild behavior that is crucial for conservation efforts. The Andean bear is classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list, facing threats from illegal poaching, habitat loss, mining, and climate change.

Now, collars equipped with video cameras are providing valuable insights into the natural behavior of these bears, as reported by researchers in Ecology and Evolution on December 4. "This project is remarkable and unique," says Mauricio Vela-Vargas, a wildlife biologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society in Bogotá, Colombia, who was not involved in the research. "For the first time, we have data that confirms many hypotheses."

Bears have long been a part of Andean folklore. In a Quechua village near Cusco, Pillco grew up listening to her grandmother's tales of ukukus — half-human, half-bear demigods who climbed a Peruvian glacier to bring water to nearby human communities. Pillco has always been eager to learn more about the real bears, the true ukukus, living nearby.

Pillco now leads an initiative to attach camera collars to Andean bears across Peru's Kosñipata Valley. While reviewing the footage may seem straightforward, the process of obtaining it is far from simple. Before they could analyze the videos, Pillco's team had to locate, capture, and collar the bears.

The task was arduous. The valley's terrain is rugged and inhospitable, says Andrew Whitworth, an ecologist specializing in tropical biodiversity at Osa Conservation, a nonprofit in Costa Rica. Whitworth, who had never seen an Andean bear before, joined Pillco's project, drawn by the challenge and excitement of something "truly difficult and a bit crazy."

To capture the bears, Pillco enlisted the help of a local mechanic to build traps — large metal boxes designed to catch Andean bears and notify the researchers via phone. "We had several false alarms, but the first successful capture was an unforgettable experience," Pillco recalls. One night, they sent a field assistant on a long hike to bait a trap near a suspected bear's location. As the assistant returned, the research team's phones began pinging with a 'TRAP ALERT.' Pillco initially suspected the assistant had made a mistake, questioning him thoroughly. The assistant assured her everything was done correctly, but she sent him back to check. "He returned, and the bear was there! … It was just waiting for the bait," she says. Whitworth, who was ill at the time, was so thrilled he got out of bed and was among the first to arrive at the scene.

Pillco and Whitworth initially tested Crittercams, GoPro-like cameras attached to separate collars, on two bears they managed to capture. Eventually, they successfully collared another bear with a more advanced device that integrated video, GPS, and movement speed. This bear wore the camera collar for four months before the researchers had to retrieve it.

"That was one of the toughest challenges," Whitworth says. The team could release the collar remotely, but it didn't detach immediately. Once they had a general location, the team, including locals familiar with the terrain, hiked out to retrieve it. They traversed thick cloud forests, built a bridge to cross a river, and walked for days until they reached the right area. Despite the efforts of Pillco's search dog Ukuku, it was a local guide who found the collar first.

The collar footage revealed previously undocumented behaviors of Andean bears. The bear consumed unusual foods like a stinging nettle plant, a woolly monkey, and a dead bear cub, and spent seven days mating with a female bear (with breaks, of course). Despite the belief that Andean bears are solitary, this bear encountered others frequently, usually peacefully.

The footage is not only valuable for scientists but also for local communities that own much of the land where Andean bears live. As these communities strive to conserve land, understanding the bears' dietary preferences helps land managers decide which species to cultivate. Pillco is also sharing her videos at an upcoming bear festival and collaborating with nearby schools to engage children with the forests and bears around them.

"We aim to create conservation ambassadors within the community, as I believe it's essential to empower them" to protect their land, Pillco says. "Because I can go, my organization can go, but the communities will remain there."

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