Peru | Guayana
Andean Bears & Co
The Academy cooperates with the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) not only regarding rhinoceroses, but also in two concrete projects in South America.
The project in Peru deals with the protection of the only remaining short-faced bears which are also threatened with extinction: the Andean bear. In Guayana, a new reserve is planned in one of the most ecologically diverse regions.
Together we are strong – this could describe the new cooperation between the Frankfurt Zoological Society and the Academy. There are indeed huge challenges for both organizations to tackle in South America.
In southeastern Peru, the Andes join up with the Amazon Basin and provide the habitat for unparalleled diversity of species. At the same time, it is still the home for indigenous people – one of the last places on earth where voluntary isolation without contact to civilization is possible. Over the last decades, the Peruvian government has erected here enormous protected areas, including the Manu biosphere reserve for example, one of the remaining refuges for the endangered Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus). This must be maintained while simultaneously taking into account the wellbeing of the people living there.
The ProBosque Manu Project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conser-vation and Nuclear Safety, has as one of its goals to facilitate the cohabitation of humans and bears. Education about the environment, an acceptance campaign, and the involvement of the inhabitants of the nature reserve all play a significant role. In 2018, the Academy supported important biological monitoring for the project. With success, as the Zoological Society writes in its project report:
„Good progress had been made and the funds from the Academy for Zoo and Wildlife Protection have been instrumental in getting this work off the ground. Thank You.“
In Guayana, the Academy also facilitated the efforts of the ZSF and the local government by creating a circa 6,000-square-meter-large reserve in the completely
forested and uninhabited Kanuku mountains in the heart of the Rupuni savanna.
The entire ZSF project report can be downloaded here: ZGF-Südamerika 2018