Thriving "Paddington" bears found in Bolivia spark hope species could be recovering

A conservation program in Bolivia has identified at least 60 "Paddington" bears in areas where they had not been spotted before, giving animal conservationists hope that the species could be starting to stabilize. The type of Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus) known as spectacled bear or Jukumari, the only one native to South America, is also the inspiration behind beloved fictional bear Paddington, who travels to London, is adopted by a family and eats lashings of marmalade. "Through this camera trap work, we're slowly starting to learn about this population, which previously there wasn't really anything known at all," regional field programmes manager of the Americas at Chester Zoo Paul Bamford said. Since 2017, the Chester Zoo’s Andean Carnivore Conservation Program initiative has installed trap cameras in the Tarija department forest areas and in 2023 sighted various members of the thriving bear community playing or walking among the trees. For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca Subscribe to Global News Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/20fcXDc Like Global News on Facebook HERE: http://bit.ly/255GMJQ Follow Global News on Twitter HERE: http://bit.ly/1Toz8mt Follow Global News on Instagram HERE: https://bit.ly/2QZaZIB #GlobalNews #Bears #Bolivia