"Wildlife Media has been like our funding parents, helping us along the way. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!"
Robyn Appleton, Andean (spectacled) bear biologist, Northern Peru
PERU
(Click here to see the new BEARTREK "Peru Promo" video.)
Home of the threatened Andean, or spectacled, bear. And where the most ancient bear species on Earth needs help.
Once in a while a conservation project stands out as a success story in the making. This is one of them. Help us to support it and you will be helping bears in perpetuity.
The Andean bear is one of the most elusive and little-known mammals on the planet. In fact, it's so rarely seen that we do not know how many are left throughout its five-country range in South America. Biologist Robyn Appleton has set out to change that. And Wildlife Media is helping her shape a future for bears and people in a place where it is tough for both to survive.
What's good for bears is good for people.
Robyn works hand-in-hand with Javier and Jose Vallejos - a father and son from the local village. Javier was, at one time, the most respected hunter in the region. Now, through Robyn's work, he has become the lead villager on a quest to save these bears from extinction.
By working collaboratively with private land owners and rural communities to improve their social and economic well being, the project is steering a positive course for bears and people in the area. Not only that, but much of the data being gathered is new to science.
Robyn, Javier, and Jose contacted Chris Morgan at Wildlife Media in spring 2008 after hearing about BEARTREK through the bear conservation community. Since that time, Wildlife Media, its board, and supporters have provided funding for Javier and Jose's salaries, remote cameras, a cutting-edge satellite radio collar, and an anti-poaching fence and gate.
In the process, we have also captured some ground-breaking footage of one of the study bears taken during a reconnaissance mission.
Now, Wildlife Media wants to bring this story to the world through our campaign and feature-length film, BEARTREK.
Make a tax-deductible donation to Wildlife Media so we can continue funding Robyn's project and capture this incredible story by February 2010, including another upfront donation to protect the spectacled bear.
Donate simply and securely online or via check on our Donate page.
Read more about Peru and watch a clip of Laura (the wild bear pictured on this page) by clicking here.
Images courtesy of Robyn Appleton and Javier Vallejos. Top to bottom: wild Andean bear in Robyn and Javier's study site, Javier with WM CEO & Board Chair John Taylor (John paid for an anti-poaching fence and gate for the village), local village girl looks on.
BORNEO
Borneo lies on the barrier between the Pacific and Indian Oceans in the heart of Southeast Asia. And on the world's third largest island lives the world's smallest bear, the Bornean sun bear.
One of the least known and studied bear species in the world, the sun bear faces tremendous threats from poaching and habitat loss to the trading of bear parts and selling of bear cubs as pets.
Yet, despite these threats, little-to-no effort was made to help this ailing species until the founding of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC). Through BEARTREK, the film and funding campaign, Wildlife Media is telling the sun bear's story and bringing much needed funding to the BSBCC.
A new hope dawns for the sun bear
Malaysian biologist and conservationist Siew Te Wong ("Wong") has studied the illusive sun bear in the Bornean rainforest for the last 10 years. He's witnessed the threats to the sun bear firsthand. With no interest from conservation NGOs and a lack of resources from local authorities to help protect the sun bear, Wong took the task into his own hands.
Through the BSBCC, which he founded in 2008, Wong works to conserve and rehabilitate while at the same time conduct more research and education on these little-known bears. In 2007, Wildlife Media pledged its financial support for Wong's project of studying and helping the sun bear population in the Bornean Rainforest.
Then, in 2008, with the release of our BEARTREK demo reel, viewers "travelled" to Borneo to see a sun bear and Wong's efforts with their own eyes. In the film, Wong works to rehabilitate a captive sun bear cub who was a victim of the pet trade - a practice that is prominent in the area. Once released in theaters, BEARTREK will introduce this little known bear to the world and show people what a sun bear is and how they live in the wild.
"There is still a lot we need to do to save this bear from extinction," said Wong, "But we can, as long as we act now and do it together!"
The BSBCC is a huge step in helping conserve the sun bear, and Wildlife Media is committed to ensuring their programs continue and grow. The next step is up to you.Your generous donation to Wildlife Media will help support Wong's effective efforts at saving the sun bear from extinction and bring his story to the world.
Top to bottom: Siew Te Wong and rehabilitated sun bear, Bornean rainforest, orangutan - one of many creatures that share sun bears' forest home. Forest and orangutan photos: Chris Morgan.
