Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo Welcomes Second Andean Bear to the New Habitat

Photo by Jack Bradley

Two-year-old Nuna Joins the Zoo Family 

​BRIDGEPORT, Conn. –— October 23, 2023-- Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is the new home for Nuna, a two-year-old female Andean bear newly arrived from the Queens Zoo in New York. Nuna has just completed her standard 30-day quarantine and has joined twenty-year-old female Andean bear Cayambe in the habitat which opened in May of this year. As a species, the Andean bear population is classified as vulnerable, with a decreasing population. The bears suffer from destruction and fragmentation of their habitats in the wild, with deforestation causing a decline in their numbers.
​Nuna was born on July 28, 2021.  Her name means soul, or spirit, in the language spoken by the indigenous Quechua people of the Peruvian Andes. 

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​Zoo Director Gregg Dancho said, “Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo continues to grow, allowing us to expand on our mission of animal conservation and education. We’re pleased to welcome Nuna as another chapter in the story of diversity and richness of life in South America.”
 
The new habitat welcomes back a species that was last part of the Zoo’s animal family in 2011. This large and beautiful habitat for the two arboreal (tree-climbing) bears features trees, two rock caves, a swimming pond and a hammock.  Native to the Andes and outlying mountain ranges, the bears are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) program and the Species Survival Plan (SSP). 
 
The habitat has space for four to five bears eventually, along with a maternity room and nursery with heated floors. The South American Andean bears do not hibernate as North American bears do, so they’ll be active in the habitat all year long.
 
About Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo
Get your ticket to adventure! Connecticut’s only zoo, celebrating its 101st year, features 350 animals representing primarily North and South American and Northern Asian species. Guests won’t want to miss our Amur  leopards, maned wolves, Mexican gray wolves, and American red wolves.  Other highlights include our new Andean Bear Habitat, Spider Monkey Habitat, the prairie dog exhibit, and the Pampas Plain with giant anteaters and Chacoan peccaries. Guests can grab a bite from the Peacock Café and eat in the Picnic Grove.  As an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and participant in its Species Survival Plan (SSP) programs, the non-profit Zoo is committed to the preservation of endangered animals and wild habitats. Tickets must be purchased on the Zoo’s website at beardsleyzoo.org.