Zoos Welcome ‘Paddington Bears’ for Breeding Programs to Help Save Species From Extinction

Two zoos within the US and UK have welcomed their very personal ‘Paddington Bear’ as a part of a particular breeding program to assist save the uncommon Andean species from extinction.

The Chester Zoo in England launched a brand new video of a ten-year-old Andean bear named Oberon that arrived as a ‘excellent match’ for the zoo’s feminine.

It’s hoped the good-looking Oberon will quickly ‘hit it off’ with three-year-old Pacha to allow them to have cubs collectively and enhance the inhabitants of the threatened South American species.

Andean Bears are also referred to as ‘spectacled’ bears because of the round golden markings that may happen round their eyes—and had been made well-known by the basic youngsters’s character Paddington Bear that was from ‘deepest, darkest Peru’ and appeared in additional than 20 books written by British writer Michael Bond.

Excited by the brand new arrival, Mike Jordan, a director on the zoo, stated Oberon has “settled in properly” since arriving in Chester, spending his time “exploring, climbing timber and testing the sights and smells of his new house.”

“Oberon hasn’t but fathered any cubs, so his genetics may play an essential function in the way forward for his species—including a key new bloodline to the breeding program.”

The Nashville Zoo in Tennessee additionally introduced this week the arrival of a brand new 10-year-old male named Pinocchio, from the Salisbury Zoo in Maryland, as a part of the Affiliation of Zoos and Aquariums’ Andean Bear Species Survival Plan (SSP).

Pinocchio has a novel origin story and was initially rescued as an deserted cub from the agricultural countryside of Ecuador and was finally deemed unfit to be launched again into the wild.

He arrived at Salisbury Zoo in 2017 and efficiently fathered three cubs throughout his time there. He’ll finally be launched to the Nashville Zoo’s feminine, Luka, hoping they’ll additionally assist guarantee genetically various populations.

Oberon at Chester Zoo – SWNS

Listed by the Worldwide Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as weak to extinction, the species is estimated to include fewer than 10,000 on account of deforestation and battle with people all through their vary in Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia.

They’re uniquely tailored to difficult mountainous habitats and possess a thick, shaggy coat and highly effective jaws used for consuming hardened vegetive matter within the harsh climates of the Andes Mountains.

Paul Bamford, a discipline supervisor for the Americas at Chester Zoo, detailed different methods they’re aiding the species, engaged on the bottom in Bolivia since 2016 to grasp Andean bears of their altering panorama.

“Our in depth digicam traps within the area have revealed that 30 feminine bears, 17 males and 13 children – the southernmost inhabitants on the planet – share their house with a few of Bolivia’s poorest and most weak rural communities.

“When bears wander into agricultural land and harm crops or kill livestock, it might probably usually end in battle or retaliation from the communities, which is likely one of the species’ principal threats.

“To assist fight this, we’ve got supported the financial wellbeing of native communities, serving to them to generate revenue by means of a spread of sustainable initiatives and addressing poverty as a driver for battle with bears.

“Harvesting and promoting honey, restoring forest habitat and coaching neighborhood members to watch the bear inhabitants are simply a few of the initiatives which have resulted in a way more peaceable co-existence the place each individuals and bears can thrive collectively.”

WATCH the video from Chester Zoo (NOTE: You would possibly need to mute the music…)


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This text was first printed by Good Information Community on 1 October 2023. Lead Picture: 10-year-old male Andean bear named Oberon – Chester Zoo / SWNS.