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China has its panda, North America its grizzly and both are recognized as worldwide conservation symbols. However, very few of you possibly know that South America also has its own native species of bear, one that is closely related and closely resembles the panda with large white circles around its eyes, an engaging nature and a marked preference for bamboo shoots in its diet. This creature is known as Andean bear or spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus).

 

But with fewer than 1,000 left in the wild in Venezuela and the pressures on it increasing daily, the few remaining Andean bears are in grave danger of becoming pinned-down in very small areas which severely limit their ability to behave naturally and move about normally.

 

Andean bears are very shy and elusive and if we were fortunate enough to be able to observe one in its natural habitat, we would be struck by how small they are, much smaller than a grizzly, with black fur and distinctive white markings around its eyes (the exact opposite to a panda) and chest. During the day these bears normally are bedded down in the roots of a large tree or in a convenient cave and in the cool of the Andean mornings it emerges looking for food.

 

Andean bear is a smart and agile creature, it can climb trees and build platforms (like nests) with broken branches and leaves where it can rest, eat at leisure and observe the forest life around. Contrary to the popular belief, this creature is not a ferocious cattle eater and its diet is almost exclusively vegetarian and just a very small portion of its meal is from animal origin. Its highly powerful jaws enable it to crack the bamboo plants, bromeliads, palms and all kinds of forest fruits.

 

Killed Through Ignorance and Fear

If this cautious creature is spotted near to croplands and farms, it is persecuted and killed on the pretext that it may prey on livestock or trample the crops. This is in spite of the fact that only 20% of its diet is of animal origin.

 

The truth lies elsewhere, inextricably bound up with the folklore and mysticism of the rural people. Killing a bear confers on the “victor” all the enormous strength of the victim and the victor's status in the community rises accordingly. Many bear's organs are thought to contain magical properties and nothing is wasted; for example, the fat is believed to cure wounds, traumas, rheumatism and arthritis. The meat, too, is highly valued for its taste.

 

In a country as Venezuela, killing a bear is illegal, but the law is ignored and the hunting provides a welcome boost to a precarious family income. In a country where the economic outlook is bleak, it is very possible that this barbaric practice will only increase in the coming years.

 

Disappearing Habitat

Habitat loss is the other threat to guarantee a promissory future for the bear in the Andes. In fact, this is probably the main threat because once the habitat is lost the conflicts arisen with the rural people.

 

In earlier times, the Andean bear was able to roam freely in response to the seasonal ripening of fruits, from the foothills of the Andes to the “high Andean pasturelands”, perpetually enveloped in mist.

 

However, increasing numbers of people and their unrelenting poverty inevitably mean that large areas of forest are cleared steadily; felled timber is used as firewood mainly and crops occupies the former forested areas. The fragments of remaining forest imprisoning the bears, restricting their natural food supply and chances of finding a suitable mate. Where so few individuals remain, every bear dead significantly reduce the chances of the species as a whole surviving.

 

All these problems compound each other and the resulting situation seems hopeless. Saving this beautiful creature is a complex and daunting task, but since 1999, at AndigenA Foundation, we have made a commitment have mapped a conservation strategy which we are determined to pursue.

 

An Environmental Conservation Ambassador

In a country like Venezuela where day to day survival takes up almost all the people's time and energy, conservation issues are generally very low priority so each well based initiative should not be underestimated. Working to save the Andean bear will eventually bring in its wake other enormous benefits to the people and the nature as a whole.

 

Saving Andean bears and their habitat will contribute towards:

- Conserve the high-altitude ecosystems known as "páramos", the cloud forests and all the extraordinary Andean biodiversity that they contain.

 

- Protect the watersheds, vital for all the people and to irrigate the lands and to produce electric energy.

 

- Protect the low-land soil from erosion so that the land will continue to support sustainable agriculture and to prevent natural disasters.

 

Andean bear is our flagship species in Venezuela; the symbol around which our main conservation efforts are focused in the Andes Mountain Range, one of the most biodiverse regions on planet.

 

Background

Between 1999 and 2012 (13 years), an innovative and successful environmental education program called “The Andean Bear Comes to School” was carried out in Venezuela by AndigenA Foundation, a Venezuelan non-governmental organization devoted to the environmental conservation in the Andean region.

 

Since the beginning, this educational program was supported by several international organizations committed to wildlife conservation. This cooperation was valuable to sustain an active and successful job in numerous educational centres, especially rural schools, through an intense schedule of public presentations and the production of different high quality educational materials. In this way, more than 10,000 children received science-based information about the Andean bear and its habitat.

 

On 2005 AndigenA Foundation launched another educational initiative called “Andean Bear’s Friends Club”, this time more focused to spread information about the species in the urban areas of Merida State and the Internet. Despite the positive results, the financial support to both educational initiatives (“The Andean Bear Comes to School” and “Andean Bear’s Friends Club”) were interrupted on 2012. Unfortunately, the international organizations no longer wanted to support them due to the socio-political situation in Venezuela.

 

But beyond the international lack of interest in supporting these successful long-term education initiatives, we have been always committed to continue them in order to promote the conservation of this important species and the biodiversity of the Andean mountains.

 

Andean bear is an Engandered species in Venezuela and though hunting of this species is forbidden by law, this illegal activity is still common in several rural areas of the Venezuelan Andes, even inside the national parks. This problematic can be explained because of lack of insufficient financial resources, inadequate training of the park rangers, or lack of motivation and awareness among the governmental authorities and the general public. This situation obliges the implementation of a strong educational component, where combined strategies can be addressed to the general public (basically urban) and to inhabitants of the species’ distribution area (basically rural).

 

Crowdfunding Campaigns to Sustain Our Hope

During August 2017, we launched a first crowdfunding campaign to restart the environmental education activities aimed by “Andean Bear’s Friends Club” in Merida Mountains, Venezuela. One and half month later, on September 15th, the campaign finished but unfortunately our financial goal was not reached (3,000 US $) and we were only able to get 20% of the amount requested. The money received allowed us purchase a second-hand computer for the production of the educational materials to support the public talks in schools as well as the communication through Internet.

 

Later, on October 2017, we launched a second crowdfunding campaign which allowed us to raise 40% of the requested amount in order to cover the expenses of the public talks in educational centers from Merida city and surroundings.

 

On April 2018, a third crowdfunding campaign was launched and we got only 15% of our goal.

 

The support gotten from these three campaigns was a sign of LOVE and COMMITMENT toward the Andean bear conservation in a country where environmental conservation issues are a very low priority.

 

A fourth crowdfunding campaign was launched on September 2018 in order to complete the schedule proposed for this year. However, this time we could not get any support.

 

Although this negative response, four years later, on January 2022, we consider launch a fifth crowdfunding campaign and this time we were able to raise the 40% of our goal.

 

Since then, we have worked without any financial support but we are still committed to continue our educational work. The future of this wonderful and important environmental education initiative it will depend of the financial support than we can get now. So, please listen to your heart and consider join to this mission to protect the Andean bear through public awareness and the environmental education.

 

Aims

To increase public awareness in favour of the Andean bear conservation and its habitat in the mountains of Merida, Venezuela:

• by developing hands-on, community-based education activities for various grade levels.

 

• by using in the environmental education, the most updated information about the Andean bear gotten through the field research.

 

• by creating and distributing educational materials for use in educational centers and other community-base organizations.

 

• by offering advisory and coordination of educational activities in the rural schools.

 

• by using the Andean bear as “focal species” for the conservation in the protected areas of Merida mountains.

 

To increase the level of local conservation/community leadership in the direction and management of an environmental education program:

• by working with school teachers and professors, local leaders and university students on the development and evaluation of the educational activities.

 

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the environmental education program for future implementation in other areas in the Andean range of Venezuela.

 

• by measuring attitude changes in students and parents regarding the Andean bear conservation within the work area.

 

• by analysing the progress of local leadership in assuming the future of the environmental education programme focused on the Andean bear conservation.

 

What difference can a few dollars make?

Maybe one single dollar means nothing to many people, but for us is the concrete possibility to sustain a wonderful long-term conservation program based in environmental education as strategy to spread interest and love for Andean bear conservation and its habitat. One single dollar can help us to give 2 pamphlets during our public talks in education centers, so 20 dollars can allow us to offer pamphlets to all children from a rural school located far away from Merida city.

 

Every dollar than you give to this environmental education initiative it will allow us to provide science-based information to our neighbors, especially children from the urban and rural areas. It is a precious opportunity to recognize the real value of the nature and our responsibility with its preservation and future.

 

Please, give us your sincere support today! Together, we can make a difference in this world full of contrast.

 

What the money raised will be used for?

The amount requested it will allow us to sustain the Andean Bear’s Friends Club during 4 months.

We will:

• Pay trip expenses to rural areas: 1 visit each month / 3 people (each trip of two days long: including meals, accommodations and fuel).

 

• Buy a portable computer and a video beam for using during the public talks at schools.

 

• Pay professional fees linked to the production of educational materials (pamphlets, posters, educational sheets, T-shirts and an informative traveling exhibit, etc.).

 

• Pay administrative expenses (communication: mail, phone, e-mail, etc.).

 

• Pay hosting and domain of AndigenA Foundation Website.

 

Outputs

• Maintenance of a website on Andean bear conservation to be used as educational tool by teachers at schools as well as the general public.

 

• Production of a travelling exhibit about the Andean bear (6 large size posters) (1 set).

 

• Production of a black and white pamphlet with special content for children (3,000 units).

 

• A set of didactic sheets for children (3,000 units).

 

• Printing of 500 stickers.

 

Outcomes

- Students and their parents will get qualified information about the Andean bear and related environmental conservation issues.

 

- Children and adults will have a stronger awareness and commitment toward the Andean bear conservation and the environment.

 

- Government’s staff and community leaders will assume the primary responsibility to reinforce an Andean bear conservation programme.

 

- “The Andean Bear Comes to School” and the “Andean Bear's Friends Club” will be used as a joint model for other conservation programs in Venezuela and eventually in neighbouring countries.

 

Updates

We will be providing updates and work progress through our website and blog and Facebook pages: 

www.andigena.org

www.clubamigosdeloso.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/clubamigosdeloso

www.facebookcom/Clubdesoursalunettes