Comparative Ecology and Conservation of Bears in North and South America

Duration

September 2014 - December 2019

Narrative

The spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) and American black bear (Ursus americanus) are considered to be representative landscape species, meaning that large scale conservation benefits can result from conservation efforts for these species and the areas they inhabit. However, the general lack of information about spectacled bears, particularly their distribution in Peru, makes it difficult to develop conservation plans. The project aims to create a spectacled bear distribution model and verify the species' presence in areas without current records in order to obtain reliable distribution predictability. In contrast, distribution, ecology, and management strategies for the American black bear are well known, and can serve to inform the same topics for the somewhat similar spectacled bear, for which relatively little is known. Results will contribute to the national plan for the conservation of spectacled bears being implemented by our major collaborator, the Peruvian forest and wildlife service (Servicio Nacional Forestal y de Fauna Silvestre - SERFOR), and allow a comparative study among these two bear species.