Food habits of Andean bears in the Oyacachi River Basin, Ecuador

Ver6nica Troya1, Francisco Cuesta2, rainfall varied greatly during the year. Rainfall was
and Manuel Peralvo2 relatively low from November to March and greater
duringJuly and August. Six majorvegetationtypes were
EcoCiencia,FranciscoSalazar E14-34 y Coruna, identified in the study area (Table 1): montane cloud
Quito,Ecuador forest, evergreen upper montane forest, alder (Alnus
spp.) forest, mixed paramoforest, cushion pairamo,and
Key words: Andean bear, diet, ecology, Ecuador,
grass paramo(Baez et al. 1999, Iturraldeet al. 2000).
Oyacachi, scat analysis, Tremarctosornatus
Ursus15(1):57-60(2004)
Methods
Scat analysis is one of the most effective methods to
determine the diet of an animal (Putman 1984),
The Andean bear may be considered an umbrella particularlyfor species such as the Andean bear, whose
species in South Americabecause it uses large areasand activitiesare difficultto observe in theirnaturalhabitats.
a wide diversity of habitats. In addition, protection of We collected scats from Januaryto December 2000 as
Andeanbearhabitatsis directlyconnectedto theconserva-
part of an ongoing Andean bear researchproject.Fifty-
tion of watersheds to safeguardfuture water supplies. three transects were established according to survey
Finally, the charisma of the species has been instru- techniques discussed by Kendall et al. (1992), with
mentalin improvingthe public's attitudetowardwildlife
surveyroutesstratifiedaccordingto the proportionof the
(Cuesta1998). However,Andeanbearsarethreatenedby 6 major vegetation types within the study area. To
habitatloss and conflicts with humans(Suairez1999). In
sample a broader altitudinal range, transects were
Ecuador, habitat loss due to agriculturalactivities has establishedperpendicularto the course of the Oyacachi
resulted in fragmentationand isolation of bear popula- River. All transectswere surveyedonce every 2 months.
tions (Cuestaet al. 1999, Suairez1999), whereaspoaching We collected 65 scats and analyzed their contents
has contributedto population reductions. Annual bear
according to methods described by Korschgen (1987).
mortalitydue to poaching is estimatedat 70-120 indi- We identified plant remains with a microscope and
viduals (Adamsand Mazariegos1994 in Suarez 1999).
comparedthem with plantsamplescollected in the study
Informationabout the ecology of Andean bears is area during 2000. All plants collected had been
crucial to provide a more solid basis for bear conserva-
previously reported as Andean bear foods by other
tion. Diet studies provide such importantinformation. authors (Peyton 1980; Suairez 1985, 1989; Mondolfi
Our study objective was to improve the knowledge of
1989). Additional plants were collected based on
the ecology of this species in Ecuador by examining informationfrom residentsaboutfood habits of Andean
Andean bear diets in the Oyacachi area and the habitats bears. Plants were identified to the species level when
that provide those foods.
possible at the HerbarioNacional del Ecuador (QCN)
before comparingthem with remainsfound in the scats.
Scientific names for plants follow J0rgensenand Leon-
Study area Yanez (1999). For some plants, identification to the
Ourstudy took place in the 72,100 ha along Oyacachi
River Basin in the Province of Napo, 50 km east of the species level was difficult because all that remainedin
the scats were fibres and portions of leaves. In those
capital city of Quito. The study area was inside the
cases, identificationonly was made to the family.
Cayambe-CocaEcological Reserve and was part of the
We used Z2tests of independence(Sokal and Rohlf
territoryof the QuichuaCommunityof Oyacachi(Fig. 1).
The elevation of the study area is between 1,600- 1981) to determine whether the frequency of scats
4,500 meters.Topographyis very irregular,with a mean containingbromeliadsvaried among vegetationtypes or
time of scat collection. Bromeliadswere the only food
slope of 41? (Cuestaet al. 2003). The lowest and highest
mean annual temperatureswere 5?C and 17?C, re- class encounteredfrequentlyenough to generate suffi-
spectively. Mean annual rainfall was 3,500 mm, but ciently large expected values.

Results
'Presentaddress:Cite Universitaire
de Geneve,A 12-12,46 We collected 65 scats during 2000; 4 scats were
Av. de Miremont,1206,Geneve,Switzerland, troyasu3@etu. not included in the analysis because of inaccurate
unige.ch2osos@ecociencia.org collection data or because they had already decayed.

57
 58 SHORTCOMMUNICATIONS

Table 1. Vegetation types in the Oyacachi River

Basin, Ecuador, 2000 (from Iturraldeet al. 2000).
Vegetationtype Elevationrange
Montanecloud forest 2,600-3,600
Evergreenuppermontaneforest 3,000-3,600
Alderforest 2,500-3,200
Mixedparamoforest 3,600-4,300
Cushionparamo 3,400-3,600
Grass paramo 3,600-4,300

bears but were not observed in scats: Anthuriumspp.

(Araceae)and Asplundiaspp. (Cyclanthaceae).

Discussion
Several factorscould have influencedscat collection.
More scats were collected during January-February,
when the weather was dry and scats were more easily
observed and preservedfor collection. Rain likely was
Fig. 1. Location of the Oyacachi River Basin, the reason for the low numberof scats collected during
Ecuador.
July-August (the peak of the rainy season). The
abundantrains made it more difficult to survey and
Contents of 4 other scats included unidentifiableplant locate bear sign, and scats decayed faster. March and
items, so we excluded those samples as well. We April had the lowest numberof scats; althoughit begins
collected 16 scats during January-February,3 during to rain heavily in April, March remains a rather dry
March-April, 13 during May-June, 5 during July- month.Unlike July and August when fruitsare abundant
August, 12 during September-October,and 8 during in montane forests, fruits are scarce during March and
November-December. April, and that reductionin food availabilitymay have
Based on the frequencywith which they appearedin reduced food intake and resulted in fewer observed
scats, Andean bears fed mostly on the hearts of scats. Bears could have moved outside the study area
bromeliads,primarilyof the genera Puya and Greigia. during those months, although we have no data to
Fruits of Hyeronima macrocarpa, a plant of the supporteither assertion.
Euphorbiaceae family, represented the second most Bears apparentlyfed most frequentlyon the meriste-
common item in scats (Table 2). The only animal matic tissues and leave bases of terrestrialbromeliads,
remainswe found in scats were those of beetles and ants such as Puya spp. and Greigia spp. Both genera
(n =4). occurredin distinct patches, but the former genus was
The frequency of bromeliads found in scats varied abundantin the grass paramo, whereas the latter was
amongvegetationtypes (2 = 11.35, 4 df, P < 0.05), but abundant in mixed pairamoforests. Other genera of
not among samplingperiods(X2= 2.25, 5 df, P > 0.05). bromeliads,such as Tillandsia spp. and Pitcairnia spp.,
Terrestrialbromeliadswere the most common item in also were eaten by bears (Table 3), although less
scats collected in pairamohabitats.Fifteen of 18 scats frequently.In Peru, Peyton (1980) found that bear diets
collected in the grasspairamocontainedbromeliads.This included various plants and animals, with bromeliads
item also occurredmost frequentlyin scats collected in and fruits as the main items. In Bolivia, D. Rumiz (D.
cushion paramo,and it was the only item in scats from Rumiz, C. Eulert,andR. Arispe, 1997, Situaciondel oso
mixed pairamoforest. andino [Tremarctosornatus] en los Parquesnacionales
Scats collected in the evergreenuppermontaneforest Amboro y Carrasco,Bolivia, Ponenciapresentadaen el
primarilycontained bromeliads and seeds from Hyer- TercerCongresoIntemacionalsobremanejode faunaen
onima macrocarpa. Among scats from the montane la Amazonia, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, un-
cloud forest, seeds of H. macrocarpa were the most publishedpresentation)also observed that bears fed on
common item, followed by bromeliads.We identified2 a variety of plants and animals; bromeliads were the
items from plants that showed signs of consumptionby most abundantitem in the diet of Andeanbears. Suarez

Ursus 15(1):57-60 (2004)

 SHORT
COMMUNICATIONS
59

Table 2. Number of occurrences of plant families Table 3. Plants consumed by Andean bears in
in scats of Andean bears, Oyacachi River Basin, Oyacachi River Basin, Ecuador, 2000.
Ecuador, 2000. Genusand species
Family Commonname
Family Number % Bromeliaceae pihueloa
Greigiaspp.
Bromeliaceae 34 59.6 Pitcairniaspp. pinuelode orientea
Euphorbiaceae 11 19.3 Puya spp. achupalla
Poaceae 5 8.8 Tillandsiaspp. huicundo/bromelia
Ericaceae 2 3.5 Araceae Anthurium spp.b bijahuaa
Myrtaceae 2 3.5 Cyclanthaceae Asplundia spp.b macana
Arecaceae 2 3.5 Ericaceae Pernettyaprostrata huangashiga
Rosaceae 1 1.8 Vacciniumspp. mortino
Total 57 100 Rosaceae Hesperomelesspp. pinande paramoa
Arecaceae Ceroxylonspp. palmade ramos
Geonomaspp. macana
(1985, 1989) studied bear diets in Antisana, Ecuador, Euphorbiaceae Hyeronimamacrocarpa motil6n
and reportedthat Andean bears were omnivorous and Myrtaceae Eugeniaspp. arrayanblanco
most frequentlyconsumed bromeliads. Poaceae Aulonemiagueko tundaa
Chusqueaspp. suro
The high frequencyof bromeliadsin bear scats in our
aLocalname.
study areamay be explainedby the fact thatthese plants bitems not found in the scats but identifiedfrom plants that
can be found in 5 of the 6 vegetation types within the showed signs of consumptionby bears.
study area. Moreover,because bears only consume the
stem and leave bases, this food source is available all
year. The distributionof bromeliads in the paramo is Fruits were the second most frequent item we
patchy, and bears may be able to feed for some time observed in the diet. Fruits of 5 species of plants were
within such patches.Indeed,Goldstein(2004) found that eaten by bears (Table 3); fruits of motilon (Hyeronima
Andeanbearsin Venezuelaselectivelyfed withinpatches macrocarpa) were eaten most frequently.These fruits
of Puya spp. with a greaterconcentrationof plants. are fleshy and relatively large (3 x 2 cm). The higher
Other food habit studies on Andean bears have frequency of these fruits in the diet may be related to
reported that animals such as rodents, deer, tapirs factors such as availability, taste, texture, or size. H.
(Tapiruspinchaque), cattle, and even birds are part of macrocarpa produces sweet, edible fruits that are
the diet (Peyton 1980, Suarez 1985, Mondolfi 1989, consumed by people in the Oyacachi River Valley (F.
Goldstein 1992). No mammal or bird remains were Quinatoa, park guard, Cayambe Coca Ecological Re-
found in scats during our study. Although scats serve, personal communication).Fruits of this species
containing remains of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus were abundantin the montaneforests duringJune, July,
virginianus) and cattle were collected in 2001, animal and January.Indeed,observationsof habitatuse indicate
matter did not seem to represent an important food that these 2 habitatsreceived more use by bears during
source for bears in our study area. It is possible, Januaryand July (Cuesta et al. 2003). However, more
however, that animal matterwas underestimatedin our informationon the phenology of this plant species is
study because it tends to be more efficiently digested needed. During other months (May-Jun and Sep-Dec),
and thus underrepresentedin scats (Pritchard and bears fed more frequentlyin the grass paramoand the
Robbins 1990, Hewitt and Robbins 1996). mixed paramo forest, where food is available all year
The differentvegetation types in the Oyacachi River long. Peyton (1980, 1987) found that bears in Peruused
Basin offer a variety of plants to which bears have easy paramobetween Februaryand April, when fruits were
access. Moreover, paramohabitatsalso provide berries scarce in the lower humid forests;bears moved through
such as Escallonia myrtilloides,Pernettyaprostrata,and the study area according to the fruiting periods of the
several species of the genus Rubus. Montaneand cloud species they consumed. Similarly,Suairez(1985) found
forests provide bears with berries from the family that bears in Antisana, Ecuador, visited paramos only
Ericaceaand fruitsof the genus Rubus,which have been between Februaryand July.
reportedas partof Andean bear diets in other countries Althoughthe samplesize of scats in our studywas too
(Peyton 1980, Mondolfi 1989). Trees of the genera small to thoroughly examine differences in the diet
Oreopanax,Miconia, Eugenia, Ocotea, Hyeronima,and among vegetation types, differences we observed
Ficus also areabundantin those forests(Baez et al. 1999), throughoutthe year seemed to coincide with habitat
potentiallyprovidingadditionalfood sourcesfor bears. use patternsreportedby Cuestaet al. (2003), suggesting

Ursus 15(1):57-60 (2004)

60 SHORTCOMMUNICATIONS

that seasonal shift in habitat use occurred in response to J0RGENSEN, P., AND S. LEON-YANEZ.1999. Catalogue of the
food availability. Bears seemed to spend more time in vascular plants of Ecuador. Monographs on Systematic
the montane forests while fruits were more available Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden. Missouri
there and stayed in the higher paramo habitats the Botanical GardenPress, St. Louis, Missouri,USA.
KENDALL,K.C., L.H. METZGAR,D.A. PATTERSON,AND B.M.
remainder of the year, using a food source that is
STEELE. 1992. Power of sign surveys to monitorpopulation
available all year long.
trends.Ecological Applications2:422-430.
We observed 2 items identified only from plants show- L.J. 1987. Procedimientospara el analisis de los
KORSCHGEN,
ing signs of bear consumption, Anthurium and Asplun- habitosalimentarios.Pages 119-133 in R.R. Tarres,editor.
dia. Both are herbaceous plants, and their absence from Manual de tecnicas de gesti6n de vida silvestre. The
scats could be due to the consistency of their stems and Wildlife Society. Maryland. (In Spanish; translation of
leaves, which are softer and thinner than those of Puya pages 113-127 in S.D. Schemnitz, editor. Wildlife
or bamboo species. Bears likely digest these items more management techniques manual. The Wildlife Society,
efficiently. However, even when they are abundant in Bethesda, Maryland,USA.)
the montane forests, only a few plants of these genera MONDOLFI, E. 1989. Notes on the distribution,habitat, food

showed signs of bear consumption. habits, status and conservation of the spectacled bear
(Tremarctos ornatus Cuvier) in Venezuela. Mammalia
55:525-544.
PEYTON, B. 1980. Ecology, distribution,and food habits of
spectacled bears, Tremarctosornatus, in Peru. Journalof
Literaturecited Mammalogy61:639-652.
1999. Caracterizaci6n
BAEZ,S., F. CUESTA,ANDM. PERALVO. . 1987. Habitatcomponents of the spectacled bear in
vegetal de la Cuenca Alta del rio Oyacachi, Reserva Macchu Picchu, Peru. InternationalConference for Bear
Ecologica Cayambe-Coca.EcoCiencia,Quito, Ecuador.(In Researchand Management7:127-133.
Spanish.) PRITCHARD, G.T., AND C.T. ROBBINS. 1990. Digestive and
CUESTA,F. 1998. Actitudesde las comunidadesde Oyacachiy metabolic efficiencies of grizzly and black bears. Canadian
Sardinas sobre el Oso de Andino (Tremarctosornatus), Journalof Zoology 68:1645-1651.
Reserva Ecol6gica Cayambe-Coca,Ecuador. Universidad PUTMAN, R.J. 1984. Facts from faeces. Mammal Review
San Franciscode Quito, Quito, Ecuador.(In Spanish.) 14:79-97.
, M. PERALVO,AND S. FLORES.1999. Manual de SOKAL, R., ANDF.J. ROHLF.1981. Biometry. The principles and

Capacitacion para el monitoreo del Oso de Anteojos practice of statistics in biological research. W.H. Freeman
(Tremarctos ornatus) en la cuenca del rio Oyacachi, and Company,New York, New York, USA.
Reserva Ecologica Cayambe-Coca. EcoCiencia, Quito, SUAREZ,L. 1985. Habitos alimentariosy distribucionestacio-
Ecuador.(In Spanish.) nal del oso de anteojos Tremarctosornatus, en el Paramo
, AND F.T. VAN MANEN.2003. Andean bear Suroriental del Volcan Antisana, Ecuador. Tesis de
habitat use in the Oyacachi River Basin, Ecuador.Ursus Licenciatura.PontificiaUniversidadCatolica del Ecuador,
14:198-209. Quito, Ecuador.(In Spanish.)
GOLDSTEIN, I. 1992. Spectacled bear predation and feeding . 1989. Seasonal distribution and food habits of
behaviouron livestock in Venezuela. Studies on neotrop- spectacled bear (Tremarctosornatus) in the highlands of
ical fauna and environment27(2):32-39. Ecuador. Studies on NeotropicalFauna and Environment
. 2004. Spectacledbear use of the epiphyticbromeliad 23(3):133-136.
Tillandsia fendleri at Quebrada el Molino, Venezuela. . 1999. Status and managementof spectacled bear in
Ursus 15:54-56. Ecuador.Pages 179-182 in C. Servheen,S. Herrero,and B.
HEWITr, D.G., ANDC.T. ROBBINS. 1996. Estimating grizzly Peyton, compilers.Bears-Status survey and conservation
bear food habits from fecal analysis. Wildlife Society action plan. IUCN/SSC, Gland, Switzerland, and Cam-
Bulletin 24:547-550. bridge, United Kingdom.
2000.
J.A., N. OLEAS,F. CUESTA,ANDM. PERALVO.
ITURRALDE,
Caracterizaci6nvegetal de la Cuencabajadel no Oyacachi, Received: 9 August 2002
Reserva Ecol6gica Cayambe-Coca. EcoCiencia, Quito, Accepted: 16 October 2003
Ecuador.(In Spanish.) Associate Editor: F.T. van Manen

Ursus 15(1):57-60 (2004)