The Potawatomi Zoo’s is excited to announce the public debut of its new Andean bear brothers, Ian and Sean. They are living in the Zoo’s recently-opened Andean bear habitat, which is connected to The Lodge, the Zoo’s concessions and dining facility.
The nearly-2-year-old brothers recently arrived at the Zoo from Smithsonian’s National Zoo, where they were born in 2022. They moved to the Zoo on the recommendation of the Andean Bear Species Survival Plan, a cooperative population management program through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
“It’s been incredible having bears back at the Potawatomi Zoo after so many years,” says Josh Sisk, executive director of the Potawatomi Zoo. “We know how much people love Muniri already, and these young bears are going to be so much fun for the public to watch grow up.”
Although Andean bears are solitary in the wild by nature, Ian and Sean will stay together in the habitat and behind-the-scenes, separate from Muniri, the Zoo’s first Andean bear. Muniri will continue to live at the Zoo, and visitors will see either him or Ian and Sean when they visit the Zoo.
“It’s so important to have this unusual, vulnerable species of bear at the Potawatomi Zoo,” explains Sisk. “It allows us to engage the public with their conservation story, and it will hopefully open the door to an opportunity to contribute to species preservation through a future breeding recommendation.”
Andean bears are also known as spectacled bears due to the unique markings many bears have on their faces. Ian and Sean can be distinguished by their facial markings. Ian has a triangle of white on his forehead and Sean has a very light stripe above his nose.
Andean bears are native to the Tropical Andes, a region of the Andean mountains of South America. Andean bears are the last species in the short-faced bear genus (Tremarctos). They are considered vulnerable to extinction due to loss of habitat and poaching.