ATTACKS BY ANDEAN BEARS ON LIVESTOCK IN THE COSANGA RIVER
WATERSHED, ECUADOR
By: Armando X. Castellanos P.
Fundación Espíritu del Bosque
Reina Victoria 17 - 37 y La Pinta / Quito - Ecuador
Tel: (593-9) 936 01 29
Fax: (593-2) 250 44 52
E-mail: zoobreviven@hotmail.com
Until 3 years ago there were no confirmed reports of Andean Bears attacking
livestock in Ecuador. Since then, accusations of bears preying on cows have
increased, especially in the Cosanga River Watershed, on the slopes of the
northeastern mountain range of the Napo Province, which occupies an surface
area of approximately 22,289 hectares and has mountainous terrain with a range
of altitudes from 1,000m to the 3,600 m.
Because the attacks were most intense in the Cosanga River area, the
Corporation Jatun-Sacha/CDC,a conservation NGO that works in the region,
asked me in May of 2001 to verify and record the bear attacks on livestock, and to
look for management alternatives to diminish human-bear conflicts. I suggested
initially that the "problembears" should be caught and tagged with a radio collar to
find, by means of monitoring, the ecological reasons the bear was attacking
livestock. Sadly, lack of resources for capture and pursuit didn't allow that idea to
come to fruition. Instead I used indirectmethods to study the bear(s), such as
recording tracks, marks on trees, and following trails. In the event of each attack I
gathered hair and feces of the "killer bear",so-called by local farmers, to
determine if it was one bear or several thatwere attacking livestock in Cosanga,
by means of molecular genetic analysis carried out by Dr. Manuel Ruíz-García.
Although the genetic results were not yet ready I sensed, based on tracking,
records, and the testimonies of affected farmers, that it was a single bear, perhaps
male, that attacked in the region. Most reported events happened in a hollow
known as Oritoyacu. Here the bear built tree nests before beginning to hunt, from
which it watched the herd and made sure there were no caretakers nearby. It
generally attacked cows that were alone and pastured very close to the forest. On
other occasions it crossed the pastures until arriving at its prey. The bear
sometimes pursued the herd to make it turn, then caught a cow, which it devoured
alive, not caring if it was asleep or standing up. The bites and scratches generally
began between the shoulders. The dead oragonized cow was then dragged for
more than 80 m, sometimes uphill, towardthe foot of the tree nest, generally
located inside the forest. There the bearfinished devouring the cow in several
visits. On some occasions the viscera must have been consumed in the high part
of the tree nests, because cow feces were found in such nests.
In Cosanga there have been 25 confirmed attacks on livestock so far, in which 15
cows, a bull, three male calves and three female calves died; two cows and a calf
were wounded. The death of four cowswas reported in a single incident.
Additionally the remains of a young horse and a danta,or tapir, (Tapirus
pinchaque) which had been eaten by a bear were found. In these cases I could
not confirm whether they had been killed by the bear.
In December of 2001, a woman was pursuedby a bear when she tried to frighten
it when it began to eat one of her cows alive. In January of 2002, a farmer was
also pursued when he tried to drive awaya couple of bears that were eating a
dead cow. In both cases, it seems thatthe bear was defending its prey in the
presence of intruders.
Since the problem of the attacks appeared in Cosanga, the "killer bear" survived
several of the farmers´ attempts to kill it. Several times it was shot and fed
poisoned animals. Since the farmers could not destroy it quickly, they believed
this animal was enveloped in a mystic and enigmatic atmosphere. To prevent the
bear being murdered, the only option was to remove it from the area. To that end I
arrived at an agreement with the farmers of the region and I made contacts with
international zoos to trade the bear for GPS collars and input devices, which would
be used to begin behavioral studies on the bears of the region. These
arrangements had the approval of the Ministry of the Environment. In March of the
present year the "killer bear" ran out of luck when it was killed in a place at which it
arrived for the first time, having left its usual hunting grounds. Indeed, the ¨killer
bear¨ was an 118kg male with a thin buildfor his size, according to local
informants. Since then there have been no more attacks on livestock reported, but
has the problem definitively been resolved?
Since my arrival in Cosanga the deaths of two Andean bears thatwere involved in
attacks have been confirmed. Incredibly, none of the identified bear hunters has
been punished. Only deep ecological investigations will provide data
demonstrating the reason bears attack livestock.I think that it is not abnormal
behavior for this species. Perhaps the lack offood in the forest to satisfy metabolic
needs and the offer of live prey in pastures causes to the bear to become a
predator of livestock, because it is easier to attack a dull, heavy cow than a
speedy deer or tapir.
www.andeanbear.org/papers/english/attacks-by-andean-bears-on-livestock-in-cosanga-river-en.pdf