From small stories to the bigger picture, the brand new One World Science podcast explores the natural world and the many ways that humans connect with it. This premier episode investigates the iconography and ecology of spectacled bears (Tremarctos ornatus).
Elusive and poorly understood — yet also in conflict with human development — South America’s only native bear species inhabits not just a fragmented range, but also a unique position at the intersection of culture and conservation.
Listen or download below. You can also find us on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play.
Special thanks to all of our guests on this episode:
Dr. Thomas Regele, Professor of Modern Languages and Literature at Montana State University-Billings
Travis Vineyard, Curator of Animals at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Dr. Isaac Goldstein, Coordinator of the Wildlife Conservation Society‘s Andean Bear Program and co-coordinator of the Andean Bear Conservation Alliance
Flynn Vickowski, Fulbright grantee researching bears in Peru. Read her blog at: bearfootperu.wordpress.com
Deep gratitude also to:
Podington Bear, who provided the wonderful music throughout this episode under Creative Commons licensing (CC BY-NC 3.0)
Gretchen Bailey for beautifully playing the quena, a traditional flute of the Andes
Katie Corr, Education Specialist at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, for her unflagging support of this project
ADDITIONAL READINGS AND MEDIA:
- “Bears Versus Farmers” video by Deutsche Welle Akademie
- Goldstein, Isaac; Paisley, Susanna; Wallace, Robert; Jorgenson, Jeffrey P.; Cuesta, Francisco; and Castellanos, Armando. (2006). Andean bear–livestock conflicts: a review. Ursus. International Association for Bear Research and Management.
- IUCN Red List page for Tremarctos ornatus
- Video about the world’s first indigenous conservation concession, Haramba Queros Wachiperi Ecological Reserve, managed in conjunction with the Amazon Conservation Association.
- “Bears, Birds, and Human Hubris: Imagining Bears in the Andes” by Dr. Thomas Regele – chapter preview taken from Bear Necessities: Rescue, Rehabilitation, Sanctuary, and Advocacy, ed. Lisa Kemmerer
- Wallace R. B., A. Reinaga, T. Siles, J. Baiker, I. Goldstein, et al. (2014). “Andean Bear Priority Conservation Units in Bolivia & Peru.” Wildlife Conservation Society, Centro de Biodiver-sidad Genetica de la Universidad Mayor de San Simón de Bolivia, Universidad Cayetano Heredia de Perú y Antwerp University.
- “Andean bear survey in Peru finds humans not the only visitors to Machu Picchu” article in Science Daily
- “Ecological corridor to save Andean bears” -a blog entry by David Nutt of the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future at Cornell University.
- Inkaterra Asociación works with the National Institute of Natural Resources
(INRENA) in Peru to install a Rescue Center on the Hotel Inkaterra Machu Picchu property (PDF) - “Spectacled Bear Conservation Action Plan” (PDF) IUCN/SSC Bear Specialist Group
- Andean Bear Festival (also known in Quechua as Ukuku Raymi) enters its third year supported by Manu National Park, Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), and Mayor of Challabamba
- “Saving South America’s Only Bear Species” video by National Geographic