Andean Bears

Barbara and Wolfgang

by Sarah Kinson

I visited Durrell Conservation Trust in Jersey to work with their Andean bears, Barbara and Wolfgang. Andean bears (Tremarctos Ornatus) are the only bears from South America. Both bears were born in 1985 in separate zoos and then placed together at Durrell in 1987 as a breeding pair. Barbie suffers from alopecia and itchy skin for which no medical explanation has been found. She also paces in her enclosure; a habit already established as part of her behaviour when she arrived at Durrell. I offered oils and remedies mainly to support the skin and for behavioural issues; with some interesting responses to certain ones in particular.

Rose (otto and absolute) – Both bears showed a great interest in and preference for the absolute; inhaling deeply, walking away and then coming back again to inhale more. Neroli - Both bears showed interest, sniffing and coming back for more. Sandalwood - Barbara was very interested in this oil and she inhaled deeply and then lifted her nose high in the air breathing deeply. She then tried to rub her face and eye on the stick of sandalwood so a plate with a few drops of sandalwood in sunflower oil was placed in Barbie’s den which is separate to the shared area; she lapped up all of the oil and lifted the plate up as if looking for more!  Chickweed macerate - Both bears showed a keen interest and ingested a small amount. Barley Grass- anxiety/skin problems-Both bears showed great interest in this; licking the stick with the powder on. Wolfgang was also offered vetiver for his over excitable sexual behaviour; he showed a lot of interest in this oil inhaling deeply.

I was amazed at the responses I had from both bears, they were so keen on the remedies that they were almost glued to the bars of their enclosure, concentrating intently on what was coming next! After the session had ended Wolfgang gathered up the aromatic sticks on which I had offered the various oils and sat holding them for quite some time with his nose in his paws.

I suggested that it may be an idea to add a few drops of rose, neroli and sandalwood in particular, separately on to pieces of muslin cloth for both bears; also to dilute rose and neroli separately in water and spray on the areas where Barbie paced. Sandalwood was to be offered for inhalation from the bottle, as well as adding several drops in sunflower oil for Barbie daily.

Both bears loved the rose sprinkled on cloths and proceeded to walk around for some time with their cloths in their mouths. Their keeper told me that she had sprayed some neroli around the path where Barbie paces indoors and that she had sniffed intently for some time and went to sleep in her bed instead of pacing! She also reported after my visit that Barbie continued to show an interest in sandalwood; in particular when offered on a piece of cloth she would inhale deeply and then proceed to rub her bad eye on it (Sandalwood is often selected by animals with eye problems).

Update

I visited Durrell again in May this year to work with the bears again and see how they were progressing. Barbie still showed great interest in rose, neroli and sandalwood; this time she also selected geranium and bergamot. Wolfgang showed interest in rose and neroli and vetiver, but did not show any interest in the other oils except for a brief sniff. He continues to enjoy sunflower oil on its own.

It was good to see the bears doing well and have the opportunity to work with them again. Jenna is pleased with their progress in general and has seen some improvement in Barbie’s skin and the alopecia has also improved. She also seems less itchy than she was and I did notice that she hadn’t been scratching almost continuously like she was before the first time I visited. Her eye also looked much better. She continues to show interest on and off in sandalwood, rose, neroli and bergamot, geranium and frankincense. Barbie does still pace occasionally but the oils help to break the cycle of this behaviour when sprayed on her pacing routes.

It was a privilege to have had the opportunity to work with such amazing animals and have such positive responses and results.