Andean bear.©Bushnell.

We will register the presence and abundance of Andean Bear (Tremarctos ornatus) using camera traps, direct observation, tracks and signs in Andean forests and paramos ecosystems of Gabriel Lopez village, Totoro municipality, Cauca department-Colombia. Due the broad ecological requirements that the Andean bear needs and different threats as habitat loss and fragmentation, a conservation plan for this species is needed. We going to promote the Andean Bear conservation with the rural community of the study area through of environmental workshops exposing monitoring methods, GPS use and biological characteristic of the species. We going to do interviews and surveys in the place to have information about conflict between Andean Bear-Rural Community.

The Andean bear is important to keep the ecosystem because plays an important roles as seed dispersal of native plants and vegetation succession by creating clearings for the growth of new seedlings. According to the IUCN Red List, Tremarctos ornatus is Vulnerable (VU) threaten category, so it is urgent to take measures to prevent the local extinction and it make to Andean bear a key conservation goal. The results of this work are an input to the knowledge of presence the Andean bear in a not-protected area and enforce the intention of the Gabriel Lopez community to protect this endangered species in the upper area of Palace basin, where the Gabriel Lopez village is located.