Give Bubu, the Andean Bear, the freedom he deserves

For several years, we have been supporting the active conservation of the Andean Bear through the Andean Bear Foundation, and more specifically, the work of Ecuadorian biologist, Armando Castellanos through social media websites such as Facebook, Causes and the website www.andeanbear.org.

Mr. Castellanos has worked with this species since 1995, and has rehabilitated and released to date 14 bears in various regions of Ecuador. His efforts have been broadcast to a wide international audience by the BBC, Animal Planet and Bayerischer Rundfunk. We represent an international audience who have been closely watching Mr. Armando Castellanos’ research and rehabilitation work and are committed to working for the conservation of this magnificent Ecuadorian treasure.

In 2008, Mr. Castellanos successfully released a bear using a Superpuma helicopter generously provided by the Ecuadorian Army.

In November 2011, Mr. Castellanos and his team rescued a female bear cub, now named Suyana, in the province of Carchi; in January of this year, the Ministry of the Environment gave the Andean Bear Foundation custody of a male cub known as Mazharito from Zamora Chinchipe. A few days ago another cub has surfaced that needs to be rescued from Morona Santiago. Unfortunately, the Andean Bear Foundation does not have the infrastructure or resources to help this cub. In order to accept the new cub, Mr. Castellanos must release Bubu, an adult Andean Bear now ready for reintroduction into the wild. The large helicopter is necessary to place the bear in a suitably remote habitat to insure a successful release.

The Minister of the Environment was notified of this urgent matter three weeks ago, but to-date, Mr. Castellanos has not received any reply or comment.