MAKE A GIFT TO PROTECT THE ONLY BEAR IN SOUTH AMERICA
About Us
After attending her first International Conference with the Association for Bear Research and Management, Robyn Appleton, SBC’s founder, noted an urgent need for research on spectacled bears—the least known bear species globally and living in an endangered dry forest habitat. In 2007, Robyn connected with hunter-turned-conservationist Javier Vallejos in northern Peru, and together they hiked through the equatorial dry forest of the Andes mountains for eight months before spotting Laura.
Laura was the first spectacled bear that we studied and was the first wild spectacled bear in Peru to be fitted with a GPS collar as part of our research. Over the years that we spent with Laura in the field, we learned an incredible amount of crucial information about spectacled bears in the wild and we developed a special bond with her. Laura died prematurely in 2013 from malnutrition and disease, but she is still the inspiration behind the work we do each day.
In 2009, we officially registered Spectacled Bear Conservation as a non-profit organization in Peru, with the objective of continuing research and partnering with local communities to protect spectacled bear habitat. Since then, our team has also grown, from a small group in the early days into a resilient group with the same passion, dedication and commitment to do what it takes to protect spectacled bears.
Our Logo
In this photo, Laura is passing saliva to her cub, Martina, to keep her hydrated. At the time, Laura was starving from the lack of access to sapote fruit (a critical food source in her fragmented dry forest habitat) and was unable to produce enough milk. Laura was doing everything she could to keep Martina alive. Our logo is inspired by this strong connection between mother and cub and represents resilience, hope and continuity of the spectacled bear species.
