It was a visit to a Danish zoo that led to DANiNJECT equipment being sent to Peru to be used in efforts to preserve the vulnerable population of spectacled bears.

Givskud Zoo has a foundation that supports conservation projects around the world, and as the zoo has Europe's largest spectacled bear facility, it was an obvious choice to support the conservation of the vulnerable spectacled bear in South America.

"We found out that the Spectacled Bear Conservation Society was starting a project to fit spectacled bears with GPS collars to learn more about their movements in the Machu Picchu area in Peru, and we wanted to support that. Spectacled bears live in mountainous areas where it is difficult to follow them, so there is a lack of knowledge about how they move around," says Kim Skalborg, a biologist from Givskud Zoo.

DANiNJECT pistol donated for project

Givskud Zoo therefore contacted the Spectacled Bear Conservation Society to donate 10 GPS collars, and when the society’s founder and president Robyn Appleton was in Denmark for another occasion, she visited Givskud to see the large spectacled bear facility and discuss the project.

"We also talked about tranquilizing animals, and that they wanted to try a new technique where they first catch the bears in traps and then tranquilize them. However, they had a challenge with some old, unreliable equipment, but that was something we could help with too. We use DANiNJECT in our zoo and are very pleased with it, so now we have also donated a DANINJECT pistol with various barrels for the project," Kim Skalborg explains.

Previously, the project has used a rifle for tranquilization, but as bears can now be tranquilized at close range, the PICO 211 pistol is the best choice.

The spectacled bear tracking project will continue until enough information is gathered to understand the bear's preferred habitats so that the Spectacled Bear Conservation Society can work with the Peruvian government to potentially preserve certain areas around the popular tourist destination Machu Picchu, where the spectacled bears roam.