MAKE A GIFT TO PROTECT THE ONLY BEAR IN SOUTH AMERICA
5,000 Acres Of Vital Habitat Protected For Spectacled Bears
Isabel watches with relief as her cub feeds on sapote. This vital seasonal fruit provides sustenance they both desperately need after a long winter in the mountains where little food is available. The freedom to descend from high elevation ridges to feed on the vast sapote groves in the valley bottom is life-saving for bears in this isolated and endangered population. What Isabel doesn’t know is that her future has been seriously threatened by agricultural development. Until now.
Thanks to the generosity of the Liz Claiborne Art & Ortenburg Foundation, the Wildlife Conservation Network, the Dry Creek Foundation and other caring supporters, SBC has purchased the swath of forest Isabel depends on—a private land parcel called Calicantro—to permanently protect 5,000 acres of critical bear habitat.
SBC’s 17+ years of research have concluded that Calicantro is essential for bear survival. It serves as a key feeding site and provides vital connectivity to higher elevation ecosystems. Critically, it also sits at the center of a larger landscape, surrounded by Indigenous-owned community land and a national protected area. This landscape forms the most viable, intact habitat remaining for these endangered bears. They are a conservation priority as the only bear population inhabiting the equatorial dry forest.
Protecting Biodiversity and a Threatened Ecosystem
Protecting 5,000 acres of habitat for spectacled bears is also a conservation milestone for the equatorial dry forest. It is one of the most threatened and highly biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. With nearly 90% of the equatorial dry forest already lost to deforestation, every acre protected makes an impact for the countless plant and animals living alongside bears. This includes many endemic species such as the critically endangered white-winged guan.
Rapid Habitat Protection For Bears
Protecting irreplaceable habitat from the looming threat of development requires decisive action. This is why SBC’s private land purchase program has become a critical conservation tool to rapidly and permanently protect key resources for bears.
Since 2021, SBC has purchased and protected 1,900 acres of private land to safeguard key feeding sites. With the Calicantro land purchase, SBC is now protecting 6,900 acres of vital bear habitat. After purchasing land, we enhance food and water availability for bears and other wildlife to help them thrive. This work includes planting trees, irrigating vegetation, and building waterholes.
Yet bears are also facing growing threats from wildfires and human-wildlife conflict, so long-term habitat protection requires more than land purchase and enhancement alone.
A Big Vision To Secure Their Future
As we start enhancement work on Calicantro, protecting the future of bears like Isabel and her cub requires a collective force for conservation.
We are expanding our community partnerships to reach all villages, and the thousands of people, living near bear habitat. Our programs empower people with conservation knowledge and sustainable livelihood opportunities to foster successful coexistence with bears. Working alongside government agencies, we are also strengthening conservation efforts within protected areas.
And importantly, your support for SBC’s mission makes this vital work possible. With each acre of habitat protected and every strengthened partnership, we are making the wild safer for endangered bears and building a future where they can thrive.
