Updates

Andean Bears at the Queens Zoo

The Queens Zoo released a short, heart-warming video featuring two young Andean bears playing with a tree branch.

The moment captured on video by a guest at the zoo, Ursula McDermott, shows the bears playing with a branch with a see-saw movement.

The pair includes Coya a female bear almost two years old, and Ransisku, a male almost four years old. Coya is on the right and Ransisku is on the left in the video.

“As young bears, Coya and Ransisku are curious about everything in their environment,” said Mike Allen, Director of the Queens Zoo. “While this particular interaction with the branch is unique and fun to watch, it’s very much in line with their natural instinct to explore, climb, and test their surroundings. They’re learning about their habitat—and each other—every day.”

Also known as spectacled bears for the distinctive white or cream-colored markings around their eyes, Andean bears are the only bear species native to South America. Adults typically measure five to six feet long, with males reaching up to 340 pounds and females around 200 pounds. Highly arboreal, they rely on trees for nesting, foraging, and resting.

In the wild, Andean bears inhabit the Tropical Andes across Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. They are classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Fewer than 18,000 are estimated to remain, with populations threatened by deforestation and conflict related to cattle and corn production.

The Queens Zoo is operated by the WCS and we conduct field conservation programs across the Andes to protect remaining bear populations. The zoo’s participation in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Program is a component of global conservation efforts.