0:00:22 > 0:00:24ROLLING THUNDER
0:00:26 > 0:00:31In the mist of the Andean cloud forest in South America,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35there's a shy, mysterious beast.
0:00:35 > 0:00:41It's one of the largest animals in these forests, yet it's so elusive
0:00:41 > 0:00:44that until recently very little was known about it.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53RUSTLING
0:00:57 > 0:01:00It's a spectacled bear.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10Though glimpses of it in the wild are rare,
0:01:10 > 0:01:14it's far more familiar from a children's book.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22In 1958, a bear called Paddington
0:01:22 > 0:01:24from deepest, darkest Peru
0:01:24 > 0:01:28entered the lives of children across the world
0:01:28 > 0:01:29through the books of Michael Bond.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31There's one bear in South America -
0:01:31 > 0:01:34the spectacled - so Paddington must be one,
0:01:34 > 0:01:38and in the book at least, he eats marmalade.
0:01:42 > 0:01:47But to biologists, the real book of its life is only now being written.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54And as its forest home is disappearing fast,
0:01:54 > 0:01:59we're racing to understand the real bear to stop it becoming extinct.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05But what they have found out about this enigmatic bear
0:02:05 > 0:02:08could put it into even greater danger.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19New, staggering revelations are now coming to light.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31The Andes run the length of South America,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34and it's up in the central and northern Andes,
0:02:34 > 0:02:36close to the equator, that the bears live.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44Skirting the mountain peaks are thick, dense cloud forests,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47which rise up to about 4,500 metres.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56Being both high and on the equator, this is called the "high tropics",
0:02:56 > 0:02:57rich in wildlife.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00COOING
0:03:02 > 0:03:05CHIRPING
0:03:13 > 0:03:18This damp air creates perfect growing conditions.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22The branches of trees are festooned with flowering plants.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34The same bromeliads that attract hummingbirds also attract bears.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39Though both sexes of bear climb trees, the female bears,
0:03:39 > 0:03:43weighing a third less than the males, are able to reach
0:03:43 > 0:03:45the more inaccessible plants on the outer branches.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Spectacled bears love bromeliads,
0:03:53 > 0:03:58and with their extraordinary sense of smell, find them up in trees.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06WHINING
0:04:06 > 0:04:10What they can smell is the plant's sugar-rich core.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18The bears are called "spectacled"
0:04:18 > 0:04:21because of the markings around their eyes.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24Actually, their sight isn't very good.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26They rely much more on their sense of smell.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32The spectacled bear is the most threatened of all the bears.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39It's the last member of a family of bears called "tremarctine",
0:04:39 > 0:04:41or "short-faced" bear.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49Thousands of years ago, the other short-faced bears became extinct,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52including a giant one that weighed more than a ton.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Above the cloud forest, it's too cold for trees to grow.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09The land is carpeted
0:05:09 > 0:05:13with vast swathes of tall grasses, called "Paramo".
0:05:13 > 0:05:18Puyas are ground bromeliads that grow out here on the Paramo
0:05:18 > 0:05:21and can stand over three metres high.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29The bears are lured out of the cloud forest
0:05:29 > 0:05:31to the sweet epicentres of the puyas.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36Clearly this bear has a sweet tooth!
0:05:36 > 0:05:41Perhaps this is the basis for Paddington's love of marmalade.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51The bears are extremely wary, and live high in the mountains,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54so getting any information on them has always been hard,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56but what scientists were sure about
0:05:56 > 0:06:01was that almost all their diet was plants.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Over the last few years,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10with cloud forests being cleared at an alarming rate,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13scientists have woken up to their plight.
0:06:16 > 0:06:22In Ecuador, biologist Armando Castellanos has devoted 12 years
0:06:22 > 0:06:24to finding out more about them.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30Although Armando has studied many animals in the cloud forest,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34his greatest passion has always been for the bears.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47THUNDER
0:07:14 > 0:07:19He is radio-collaring a wild bear that has been trapped and sedated.
0:07:22 > 0:07:27This is a large male bear. He also has collars on other animals,
0:07:27 > 0:07:31to build up a picture of where the bears are and what they're doing.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42He hopes to find out, crucially,
0:07:42 > 0:07:44just how much ground the bears cover.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Armando isn't the only scientist in the Andes
0:08:06 > 0:08:09who's become obsessed by spectacled bears.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16Further south, on the dry, rugged foothills of Peru,
0:08:16 > 0:08:20spectacled bears are at the very edge of their range.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24This is where biologist Rob Williams works with the bears
0:08:24 > 0:08:26on a small reserve called Chaparri.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Rob came out here from England
0:08:28 > 0:08:32as a bird-watching tour guide, married a Peruvian girl,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36and settled here to establish a community-owned reserve
0:08:36 > 0:08:38with his new father-in-law.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41I first heard about spectacled bears, I guess, as a child.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43I don't remember the exact moment.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45Everyone knows Paddington came from Peru.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48It was a mythical animal of the Andes
0:08:48 > 0:08:51that no-one really saw or knew anything about.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54I came as an ornithologist, interested in birds,
0:08:54 > 0:08:57but I wanted to see a puma and a spectacled bear,
0:08:57 > 0:09:01because these are the big, exciting animals.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05Though there were rumours of bears living in the Chaparri area,
0:09:05 > 0:09:10no-one, including Rob, knew for sure whether they were still there.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14It was only when I started coming down here in about 1999,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17just after the peace agreement between Peru and Ecuador,
0:09:17 > 0:09:19that it became possible and I met people saying,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22"There are still spectacled bears in an area."
0:09:22 > 0:09:26With the local people here, and some other biologists,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30we started to get interested in them, thinking how are they still doing.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32It's amazing they're still here.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39But in such a vast landscape and with limited resources,
0:09:39 > 0:09:41how could Rob ever be able to find one,
0:09:41 > 0:09:43let alone learn anything about them?
0:09:48 > 0:09:51Remote cameras, triggered by an infra-red beam,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53were a possible answer.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Unlike people, they neither smell nor move,
0:09:58 > 0:10:02and can remain unflinching, night and day, for weeks at a time.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08The dry riverbeds on the reserve
0:10:08 > 0:10:11always have a few remaining pools of water,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14and Rob knew that if the bears were there at all,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17they would come to drink sooner or later.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23Week after week, Rob and his team
0:10:23 > 0:10:27visited each camera trap in the mountains,
0:10:27 > 0:10:31returning to base with the crucial evidence on the memory cards.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35What they found exceeded all expectations.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Seeing the first photo on the camera was really exciting, you know.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46We didn't know how well it would work or how many photos we'd get.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48We got a nice photo of one in a pool
0:10:48 > 0:10:52with its face coming right up out of the water, looking at us.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54We had the whole facial pattern - it was exciting.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56We realised, "We can do this
0:10:56 > 0:10:59"and we can use this to study these bears."
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Gradually we built up a picture
0:11:01 > 0:11:04and we know now that there are nine or ten bears
0:11:04 > 0:11:07using this valley on a regular basis.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Probably five or six in it at any one time.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15The study continues, but it's slow.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19So Rob also values the information he's getting
0:11:19 > 0:11:21from a group of rescued bears
0:11:21 > 0:11:24which live in an enclosure in the reserve.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29These bears have been rescued from captivity,
0:11:29 > 0:11:32illegally held in circuses, zoos, factories,
0:11:32 > 0:11:36saw mills, private people's houses.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39They have a better life here. We can learn stuff from them.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43But most importantly, the locals can come here and see the bears
0:11:43 > 0:11:45and it creates a local source of respect.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55The camera traps have shown us that the bears' behaviour
0:11:55 > 0:11:58is quite different from what was believed.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02People believed they were nocturnal. It's published in several reports.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04But through the camera-trapping,
0:12:04 > 0:12:06we've found there's no night-time activity at all.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15He's also witnessed something else which is quite extraordinary -
0:12:15 > 0:12:18the bears making beds in the trees.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Biologists haven't yet found a den,
0:12:55 > 0:12:57but mothers and their cubs
0:12:57 > 0:13:01have been observed to remain together for over a year.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03Two cubs is the norm.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Not much more is known about their upbringing.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27WHINING
0:13:35 > 0:13:39As Rob gets to know spectacled bears better,
0:13:39 > 0:13:41he's starting to understand
0:13:41 > 0:13:45how they survive here at the very edge of their range.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50In this habitat, especially in the dry forests,
0:13:50 > 0:13:56they're trapped in the edge of their possible limit of survival.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58You know, this is an extreme environment for them.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03Their diet was thoroughly studied here 40 years ago.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10Scientists decided that these bears were mainly vegetarian,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13with protein from termites and beetles
0:14:13 > 0:14:15making up a scant 2% of their meals.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21Some Andean people, particularly those that keep livestock,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24believe that bears are even predatory,
0:14:24 > 0:14:28but this is something that scientists are quick to dismiss.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31In my years here and in other countries, I've heard many reports
0:14:31 > 0:14:35of amazing things from otherwise credible witnesses.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38The in-built beliefs and hatreds towards predators
0:14:38 > 0:14:40in Andean communities
0:14:40 > 0:14:44can often lead people to tell you things they believe they have seen.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47There's a man here who's told me he's seen a peregrine
0:14:47 > 0:14:50cut the heads off four chickens with its wings.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54It's obviously rubbish. He's otherwise a very reliable observer.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59Rob thinks that scientists must stick to what they see.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01Here in Peru, even at the peak of the dry season,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04which lasts for three or four months of the year,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08when there's absolutely no fruit, no insects, no nothing,
0:15:08 > 0:15:12then the bears at Chaparri eat nothing more than bark.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28Their teeth can rip deep into the trunk of leafless pasallo trees,
0:15:28 > 0:15:30where sugars are stored, and this is enough,
0:15:30 > 0:15:33amazingly, for the bears to survive.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Interestingly, the bears seem
0:15:47 > 0:15:52to have a sixth sense for when and where to find fruiting trees.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55When these berries appear much lower down the mountain,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59the bears are soon onto them. Is it their sense of smell,
0:15:59 > 0:16:03or is information being passed down from mother to cub?
0:16:11 > 0:16:16Rob knows that bears quickly move into his area when fruits appear.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19However, he has no idea how much ground
0:16:19 > 0:16:23these same bears are also using outside the reserve.
0:16:27 > 0:16:32Back in Ecuador, this is exactly what Armando is trying to find out.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37Working at this altitude for weeks at a time is hard.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41A horse is the only way to get around up here.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52The horses on this ranch at Yanahurco are direct descendents
0:16:52 > 0:16:55of ones brought from Spain by the conquistadores,
0:16:55 > 0:17:00and 500 years of altitude have given them the lungs for the job.
0:17:03 > 0:17:08It's soon clear Armando will need stamina too.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11In this terrain, it's hard to pick up the signal
0:17:11 > 0:17:13from the radio-collared bear.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16At this high spot, he ought to get a good signal.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20He needs line of sight to pinpoint the transmission from the collars,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23and in this terrain, that can be hard.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46STATIC
0:18:00 > 0:18:05It seems that his big male bear has moved over 15 kilometres in one day,
0:18:05 > 0:18:10and is now heading north west from the Paramo to denser terrain.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19But these deep valleys don't just make the signal difficult to find -
0:18:19 > 0:18:21they slow him right down.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39Armando realises he needs some way of getting above it all.
0:18:43 > 0:18:48He gets the help of local flying enthusiast Jorge Anhalzer.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Armando will take his receiver with him
0:18:52 > 0:18:55and be able to cover much more ground.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06Jorge does a final engine check. They'll be flying over terrain
0:19:06 > 0:19:09where an emergency landing will be impossible.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12THEY SPEAK IN SPANISH
0:19:12 > 0:19:15ENGINE STARTS
0:19:43 > 0:19:45Radio tracking from the air
0:19:45 > 0:19:48allows Armando to build up a picture
0:19:48 > 0:19:51of where his collared bears are moving.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54After several flights over a period of months,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57he is able to map the signals.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59He can see the entire range
0:19:59 > 0:20:02that the male bear has covered over that time.
0:20:02 > 0:20:03TRACKER BEEPS
0:20:03 > 0:20:06It is 16,000 hectares.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09That's half the size of the Isle of Wight.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14It's bigger than anyone had imagined.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20He's also discovered that, within the same area,
0:20:20 > 0:20:22there are also two females.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30If a bear needs so much land to survive,
0:20:30 > 0:20:34an encroachment on its territory puts it under enormous pressure.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38People are pushing further and further into remote areas,
0:20:38 > 0:20:43often clearing areas of once pristine cloud forest
0:20:43 > 0:20:45to graze their cattle.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49Every hillside that is cleared
0:20:49 > 0:20:52denies the bear a few trees dripping in bromeliads
0:20:52 > 0:20:56or a patch of sugar-rich puyas.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58LOWING
0:21:01 > 0:21:05The cattle are also being taken right up onto the high Paramo.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Scientists like Armando
0:21:07 > 0:21:11are eager to find out how the bears are coping with these changes.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18Back on the ground,
0:21:18 > 0:21:22Armando returns to the spot where he obtained the most recent signal.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25TRACKER BEEPS
0:21:26 > 0:21:28The signal is very strong.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33The frequency tells him it's the big male bear.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37It must be close. But a condor is circling.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41Though they're quite common here, to see them in flight like this
0:21:41 > 0:21:45generally indicates that there's a carcass around.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48Might his bear be dead?
0:21:53 > 0:21:55But suddenly, the bear's signal strengthens
0:21:55 > 0:21:58and Armando gets a sighting.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02There she is. Over there.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05It's alive and well.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23Armando tries to see where the bear is heading.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41It seems to be following a scent.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43A dead cow.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48And the bear seems very interested.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21To Armando's amazement, the bear starts
0:23:21 > 0:23:23to gorge on the belly of the cow.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31It's one more observation that has helped turn everything that we knew
0:23:31 > 0:23:33about spectacled bears on its head.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Forget beetles and termites.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42This bear clearly has a taste for raw steak, too.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52This extraordinary sighting encourages Armando
0:23:52 > 0:23:54to continue his trek across the Paramo.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12Four days later, another intriguing observation -
0:24:12 > 0:24:15a long trail through the grass.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28The ground has been trodden down.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35It seems that something big has been dragged down the hill.
0:24:37 > 0:24:43And not 50 nor 100, but 200 metres down the hill.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Armando follows the trail down.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02At the end of it is another carcass.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07It's another dead cow.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16There are tooth marks of bear, and claw marks, too.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27There are well-known cattle-killers up here - pumas.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31But it's still surprising to find a spectacled bear scavenging
0:25:31 > 0:25:34on one of their kills.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48BIRD CALLS
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Perhaps the bears are being pushed into scavenging meat
0:25:51 > 0:25:54because their habitat is being broken up.
0:26:01 > 0:26:07It's difficult for Armando to assess what bears normally do in the wild.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11To study the bears' natural diet, Armando has started visiting
0:26:11 > 0:26:16a much more pristine, unspoilt part of Ecuador.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25It's a place so remote, it takes days from Quito in a Land Rover,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27and then more days on horseback.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39A dangerous journey along treacherously steep ridges
0:26:39 > 0:26:44to the wild, pristine foothills of Mount Sangay.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48And no-one comes here for a very good reason.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51VOLCANO ROARS
0:26:57 > 0:27:01Every now and then, quite randomly, it erupts.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04The locals won't come within miles of here.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12Armando knows what he's looking for.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19This is dense, pristine cloud forest and Armando can recognise
0:27:19 > 0:27:24the trail left by spectacled bears as they move through it.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28After many hours of searching, he finds a vital clue...
0:27:30 > 0:27:33..the faeces, or scats, of a bear...
0:27:38 > 0:27:40..and in it, hairs.
0:27:49 > 0:27:54Armando is sure that these hairs belong to the mountain tapir.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58Mountain tapirs are indigenous to the cloud forests of the Andes.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02They're about the size of donkeys, but because they are good to eat,
0:28:02 > 0:28:05have been hunted out of most of their former range.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14But at Mount Sangay, where there are absolutely no people,
0:28:14 > 0:28:15the tapirs are abundant.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22For Armando, it's a revelation
0:28:22 > 0:28:26that spectacled bears have probably always scavenged on carcasses,
0:28:26 > 0:28:30on indigenous creatures such as mountain tapir,
0:28:30 > 0:28:33which were here long before cattle.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37But this revelation also makes him reconsider
0:28:37 > 0:28:40a lot of other assumptions he's held about spectacled bears.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43Like Rob Williams in Peru,
0:28:43 > 0:28:47Armando has been ignoring the local campesinos' rather wild claims
0:28:47 > 0:28:50that bears were attacking live cattle.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52He puts out the word that he would like to hear
0:28:52 > 0:28:55from anyone making these kinds of claims.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58Senora?
0:28:58 > 0:29:00Se acuerda? Como esta?
0:29:00 > 0:29:03Se acuerda de lo de...? A woman responds.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06She lives in a region of Ecuador called Cosanga.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08She recounts to Armando something extraordinary
0:29:08 > 0:29:12she saw down by the river.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14THEY SPEAK IN SPANISH
0:29:45 > 0:29:51The tapir and bear escaped when...they see her.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55If he had met this lady before he had been to Sangay,
0:29:55 > 0:29:58he would have dismissed her assumption
0:29:58 > 0:30:01that the bear was actually attacking the tapir.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05But knowing now that some bears have a taste for raw meat,
0:30:05 > 0:30:09he can't help but wonder whether there's more to this bear
0:30:09 > 0:30:11than scientists have ever believed.
0:30:17 > 0:30:22Less than 30 kilometres away, but still in the same region, Cosanga,
0:30:22 > 0:30:24a campesino is keen to take Armando
0:30:24 > 0:30:28up the hill to the clearings in the forest made for the cattle.
0:30:37 > 0:30:43Here, the campesino pulls out a photograph - of a cow.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46The cow has been fatally wounded.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51The campesino claims it was attacked by a bear.
0:31:05 > 0:31:11Two attacks, allegedly by bears, only 30 kilometres apart.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15That's within the home range of one hungry male bear.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31Claw marks on a tree prove that there are bears here.
0:31:36 > 0:31:38THUNDER RUMBLES
0:31:39 > 0:31:44Could it be that spectacled bears, like grizzly bears,
0:31:44 > 0:31:47are attacking and killing large mammals?
0:31:47 > 0:31:52If true, this would be shocking news for the scientific community.
0:31:52 > 0:31:53And there are scientists,
0:31:53 > 0:31:56like Rob Williams in Peru,
0:31:56 > 0:31:59who don't believe the evidence stacks up.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01The spectacled bear is a small bear.
0:32:01 > 0:32:06The biggest ones that are reported are about 120, 130 kilos.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09A cow weighs about four times what a spectacled bear weighs -
0:32:09 > 0:32:11that's a huge difference.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15There are very few predators in the world that take out prey alone
0:32:15 > 0:32:17that are that much bigger than them.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25They believe what they're telling you, but when you actually say,
0:32:25 > 0:32:27"Whose cow has been killed?"
0:32:27 > 0:32:31"It's the neighbour of my cousin's friend."
0:32:31 > 0:32:34And, you know, I want to see someone... Why has no-one proven it?
0:32:34 > 0:32:36No-one's ever shown us a dead cow
0:32:36 > 0:32:40and we've got there in time and said, "Yes, a bear killed this cow."
0:32:45 > 0:32:47But in a remote part of Ecuador,
0:32:47 > 0:32:49that's exactly what people are saying.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04There's a remote community at a place called Oyacachi.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22Isaac Goldstein is a Venezuelan biologist
0:33:22 > 0:33:25following the same leads as Armando.
0:33:25 > 0:33:30Isaac has been investigating claims about bear attacks on cattle
0:33:30 > 0:33:33across the bears' range in Venezuela and Bolivia,
0:33:33 > 0:33:35as well as here in Ecuador.
0:33:46 > 0:33:51Isaac listens carefully to what the people at Oyacachi have to say.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53HE SPEAKS IN SPANISH
0:33:54 > 0:33:58They've told these stories often, but few people have believed them.
0:34:47 > 0:34:49The Ministry of Environment
0:34:49 > 0:34:52didn't believe that the bear was attacking a cow.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55The only known conflict with the bears
0:34:55 > 0:34:58is that they are spotted in fields of maize.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08Maize is increasingly grown in forest clearings,
0:35:08 > 0:35:12and looks like the tall puya that the bears love to eat anyway.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20So people and bears are in conflict already.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26If people are also talking about bears attacking cattle,
0:35:26 > 0:35:30what hope is there of local people caring for this bear?
0:35:34 > 0:35:36Denis Torres works
0:35:36 > 0:35:39for a conservation organisation called Andigena,
0:35:39 > 0:35:41and thinks that local people
0:35:41 > 0:35:45are being swayed by a long-held mistrust of bears.
0:35:45 > 0:35:49The campesino believe the spectacled bear is a real predator,
0:35:49 > 0:35:52because they have a lot of misconception, maybe.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55It's the heritage for the Spanish people,
0:35:55 > 0:35:58when they are coming to South America,
0:35:58 > 0:36:01they have a long history of conflict
0:36:01 > 0:36:04with brown bears in Spain or in Europe.
0:36:07 > 0:36:12But scientists are going to have to get to the truth - and fast -
0:36:12 > 0:36:16because local people are already taking the law into their own hands.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22Hunting is thought to be a major cause of population reduction.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24Nearly 200 bears are shot each year,
0:36:24 > 0:36:27even though they're an endangered species.
0:36:39 > 0:36:44The bear's reputation as a crop raider is bad enough.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48Andigena don't want its image to be tarnished any further.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52They make no mention of the stories of bears hunting down cattle.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03HE SPEAKS SPANISH
0:37:10 > 0:37:13Torres distributes attractive brochures
0:37:13 > 0:37:15to farmers in remote communities
0:37:15 > 0:37:19to help dispel any negative attitudes towards the bear.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31The farmer living here in this area
0:37:31 > 0:37:37has seen constantly one spectacled bear close to his farm.
0:37:37 > 0:37:38And he told me,
0:37:38 > 0:37:42"I don't have any problem related with cattle predation.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46"In fact, the spectacled bear is very close to my home,
0:37:46 > 0:37:50"but I don't have any problem with the bear.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54"Sometimes the bear is eating the corn in my crops,
0:37:54 > 0:37:56"but I don't feel afraid about the bear
0:37:56 > 0:37:59"or any bad image about the bear."
0:38:01 > 0:38:05But this approach is causing a rift with biologists.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09I get very mad at them,
0:38:09 > 0:38:14because they are preaching what they would like to happen
0:38:14 > 0:38:17in the world, but that's not what is happening.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21Como esta? Mucho gusto.
0:38:24 > 0:38:28If we go to a settlement that is having problems
0:38:28 > 0:38:33and we say to the cattle owners, "You have no problems,"
0:38:33 > 0:38:38we will lose all the credibility
0:38:38 > 0:38:41because we will be liars.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43They know what they are seeing.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46They are experts on their cattle.
0:38:47 > 0:38:53The campesino believe the bear is the main reason for the cattle loss.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56I am not very sure about that.
0:38:56 > 0:39:02I think that the puma is the main animal provoking the cattle death.
0:39:04 > 0:39:09At Oyacachi, Isaac Goldstein is increasingly convinced
0:39:09 > 0:39:10that it's not a puma
0:39:10 > 0:39:14but a bear that's attacking and killing their cattle.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18A calf has been found on the Paramo, motherless and injured.
0:39:36 > 0:39:43OK, we can see here clearly the claw marks of the attack.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45Very superficial, however.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48This is the only profound wound.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51We don't see anything here
0:39:51 > 0:39:57in the base of the skull or the throat, so it is not a puma attack.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01And the mother of this calf is missing,
0:40:01 > 0:40:07so we should look for her and see and confirm the bear attack.
0:40:07 > 0:40:13We will look for the remains of the mother and confirm the bear attack.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17The owner of these cattle, called Melchor,
0:40:17 > 0:40:21continues alone in the search for his missing cow.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24Following hoof marks and disturbed vegetation,
0:40:24 > 0:40:26he enters the cloud forest.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29He soon identifies an area on the ground within the forest
0:40:29 > 0:40:31where there has been a huge struggle.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35The ground has been kicked up and there are traces of hairs.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46He found a dead cow -
0:40:46 > 0:40:50one of his cows dead - and other signs of struggle.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57He followed the signs of dragging...
0:40:59 > 0:41:04..and then at the end of the signs he found the dead cow.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09From what remains it's hard to tell
0:41:09 > 0:41:12whether this was the mother of the wounded calf,
0:41:12 > 0:41:16but Melchor is sure that it has been attacked by a bear.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23Now, these signs of dragging
0:41:23 > 0:41:26were exactly what Armando saw on the Paramo.
0:41:26 > 0:41:30Perhaps that wasn't a puma attack after all.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32Back at Oyacachi,
0:41:32 > 0:41:36Isaac believes he's now building up the profile of a bear attack -
0:41:36 > 0:41:39a series of distinctive clues.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43He follow other trails and at the end of one of those
0:41:43 > 0:41:45he found a big ground nest
0:41:45 > 0:41:50with scats and claw marks on trees.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56These claw marks tend to appear on trees
0:41:56 > 0:42:00less than 100 metres from where a bear has fed.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04Armando saw them at Cosanga.
0:42:06 > 0:42:11Is this where little Paddington sharpened his marmalade spoon
0:42:11 > 0:42:13into a butcher's knife?
0:42:21 > 0:42:24There's even more emphatic evidence to come.
0:42:24 > 0:42:29He's telling me that he have had previous attack on his cattle,
0:42:29 > 0:42:31and showing me a picture,
0:42:31 > 0:42:37and here you can see the typical signs where the bears attack cattle.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40Isaac is now in no doubt.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45There is a totally different behaviour between a puma kill
0:42:45 > 0:42:47and a spectacled bear kill.
0:42:47 > 0:42:52The puma kill, you see all the evidence in the throat.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55That's the kill of a puma.
0:42:55 > 0:43:00There's no way, no way, you can mistake one kill from the other.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02There is no way.
0:43:03 > 0:43:07And these are the same wounds that Armando saw
0:43:07 > 0:43:09in the photos at Cosanga.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13It's like solving a criminal case with humans.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17You don't have to see the guy shooting...
0:43:17 > 0:43:21at the person. You solve the problem with the evidence.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27But down in Peru, Rob Williams remains cautious.
0:43:27 > 0:43:31In Chaparri, he has absolutely no evidence
0:43:31 > 0:43:36that bears kill other animals, so he prefers to understate the claims.
0:43:36 > 0:43:40It is interesting, these new studies and the new evidence -
0:43:40 > 0:43:43it is showing us new aspects of this animal we knew so little about.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47We're learning that it is more of an opportunist,
0:43:47 > 0:43:50it's less vegetarian than we originally thought.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56Once upon a time, scientists just wanted to find out
0:43:56 > 0:44:00enough about this bear to save it from extinction.
0:44:00 > 0:44:04Now they cannot agree on the next step.
0:44:05 > 0:44:09We need to be careful with what we do with any information that comes out
0:44:09 > 0:44:11about predation with this bear.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14We've got to report it. You've got to be, as a scientist, factual.
0:44:14 > 0:44:16But we've got to put it into context
0:44:16 > 0:44:20that it may happen in some areas, but in other areas it isn't happening,
0:44:20 > 0:44:24and it may be, at worst, a few individual bears that learn this.
0:44:24 > 0:44:26In the Andes, for many years,
0:44:26 > 0:44:29people have said they're evil, predatory animals.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32We need to be sure that they really are predatory
0:44:32 > 0:44:34and think about solutions to the problem,
0:44:34 > 0:44:39not just say "they're predatory" and create a worse press for the bear.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42Because in the main, and in many areas like this,
0:44:42 > 0:44:44they are not taking cattle.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52Isaac agrees that it might not be a problem everywhere,
0:44:52 > 0:44:56but he thinks it's time to face up to what's going on.
0:44:56 > 0:45:01We cannot say that it is a widespread behaviour,
0:45:01 > 0:45:05and that in all localities all bears attack cattle.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09But in certain localities, certain bears become a problem,
0:45:09 > 0:45:11and we have to deal with that problem.
0:45:11 > 0:45:16The problem is how you...
0:45:16 > 0:45:21keep the cattle away from the bears and the bears away from the cattle.
0:45:21 > 0:45:22That's the main problem.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30One solution might be to bring llamas
0:45:30 > 0:45:32and guanacos back to the northern Andes.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35Unlike cattle, they're native to the Andes
0:45:35 > 0:45:38and have shared the mountains with bears for millennia.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45They might be better than cows
0:45:45 > 0:45:48at scrambling off steep slopes when chased by a bear.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58Another solution to the conflict
0:45:58 > 0:46:01might be to manage the cattle better -
0:46:01 > 0:46:03fence them in to the lower slopes
0:46:03 > 0:46:07or even pay out compensation money when cows are lost.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16It's unfortunate that the only reason we are having problems
0:46:16 > 0:46:19is because we've encroached on the bears' world.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24The more we learn about the spectacled bear,
0:46:24 > 0:46:27the more intriguing we find them to be.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32They're surviving by changing their behaviour
0:46:32 > 0:46:35as we replace their forest foods with cows.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39They're doing their level best to hang on.
0:46:39 > 0:46:41Are we doing our best to help them?
0:46:43 > 0:46:47It'll be a very sad world if we can't live with spectacled bears,
0:46:47 > 0:46:50with the 6,000, 10,000 spectacled bears -
0:46:50 > 0:46:55if we can't find a space for them in six Andean countries.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58The spectacled bear is the big terrestrial animal
0:46:58 > 0:47:00in many of these habitats.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03If we can't protect that, we'll lose the next one down,
0:47:03 > 0:47:05then we'll lose the next one down,
0:47:05 > 0:47:08and we'll end up with a poorer, simpler ecosystem.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14Hopefully, with increasing knowledge will come
0:47:14 > 0:47:18a better understanding of how we might take better care of this...
0:47:20 > 0:47:23..the original Paddington Bear.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:48:41 > 0:48:44E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk
0:48:51 > 0:48:52What would your doctor discover...
0:48:52 > 0:48:54Hello. Come and meet the doctor! Hello.