'I always dreamed of working with the Andean bear,” recalls National Geographic Explorer Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya, who was inspired by the legends of her Quechua heritage to help protect these formidable mammals
is a demi-god character—half human, half Andean bear—that delivers ice from high-elevation glaciers to provide water to the surrounding towns.Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya, who grew up in a small Quechua village outside of Cusco. “I loved this interaction between human and animal.”
Ensure a greener future by supporting the work of National Geographic Explorers who are illuminating and protecting the Amazon and Earth’s critical ecosystems. Donate to the nonprofit National Geographic Society today.Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. “Sometimes,” Pillco Huarcaya says, “the bears kill cows to eat them, which generates some conflict. In many cases they kill the bears for this reason.” Pillco Huarcaya’s journey to studying Andean bears was somewhat less-than-direct, and for her family, unexpected.
“I was in Costa Rica, working on tree conservation,” she recalls. “I received a call, telling me that there is an opportunity in Peru to work with the Andean bear.” Without hesitation, she left her job in Costa Rica and headed home to the mythical bears of her childhood.