An Andean bear at the nature reserve Bioparque Wakata, in Briceno town near Bogota, Colombia, on June 21, 2023. Image by Raul Arboleda/AFP through Getty Images
Andean bears (Tremarctos ornatusmaybe best understood for their imaginary representation in “Paddington,” are tropical mammals endemic to the Andes Mountains from Bolivia to Venezuela. They are noted as susceptible by the IUCN, however some brand-new insight into their feeding habits might assist safeguard them. Andean bears thoroughly choose the very best foraging areas and plants in order to optimize their dietary consumption. They likewise usually prevent pursuing animals, a behvior that has actually gotten them into some problem. The findings are explained in a research study released December 18 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE
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Called “spectacled bears” due to the distinct white markings around their eyes, they are real arboreal bears that invest many of their time in trees. Andean bears are thought about midsize bears, at in between 4 and 6 feet long. They are rather shy and normally prevent human beings, making them hard for researchers to study in the wild. Environment loss, environment modification, and dispute with human beings– especially ranchers– are their main hazards. The bears can in some cases pursue animals, however research studies have actually revealed that the hazard from the bears is not rather as major as some view.
A household of blooming plants called bromeliads are a huge part of their diet plan. These plants belonging to North and South America consist of the familiar pineapple, while others are smaller sized and less vibrant like Puya raimondiiResearchers do not understand a lot about the Andean bears' foraging habits and feeding choices throughout their environments. The bears reside in a mix of areas consisting of meadows and cloud forest.
“Andean bears have a broad diet plan, consisting of more than 300 plants,” Nicholas Pilfold, a research study co-author and preservation researcher with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, informs Popular Science“As such, they play a really essential function in seed dispersal throughout the cloud forest environment.
In the brand-new research study, a group from organizations in Peru and the United States performed studies of 2 types of bromeliad (Puya leptostachya and Puya membranacea. These plants are discovered in high-altitude meadows, called “puna,” around Peru's Manu National Park. The group taped the area of each plant and any proof of usage by Andean bears, such as collected or partly consumed stalks.
Examples of foraging indication left by Andean bears on terrestrial bromeliads in Peru. Clockwise from the leading right: (a) juvenile Andean bear taking in a bromeliad at an electronic camera station inside MNP; (b) particular observation of a vegetative P. leptostachya foraged by Andean bear; (c) a close up of the basal meristematic tissue that Andean bears feed upon. CREDIT: Pilfold et al., ยป …
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