On 3 June, Agustín Carrasco saw an Andean bear at one of the core plots at the Estación científica San Francisco. This was an extremely lucky encounter, as Andean bears are hardly seen at Podocarpus National Park. Even luckier are we that Agustín had his camera with him and filmed the bear only a few meters away in this exciting moment. Endemic to the Tropical Andes, the Andean bear is the only extant species of bear in South America. The more it is astonishing that so little is known about its population densities and trends. Andean bears are reported to move along altitudinal gradients, following seasonal patterns of food resources. They are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. Mostly habitat loss is threatening their existence.
