{"id":310854,"date":"2025-12-11T22:35:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T22:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/310854\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T22:35:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T22:35:07","slug":"incredible-footage-shows-andean-bears-using-tree-branch-like-a-see-saw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/310854\/","title":{"rendered":"Incredible Footage Shows Andean Bears Using Tree Branch Like a See-Saw"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>      <img data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/bears-see-saw-zoo-800x420.jpg\" alt=\"Two black bears are playing on a seesaw made from a fallen tree; one bear is pushing the log up while the other is lifted into the air. Trees and rocks are visible in the background on a sunny day.\" width=\"800\" height=\"420\" class=\"size-large wp-image-830513\"  \/>A pair of young Andean bears are seen \u201csee-sawing\u201d in Queens Zoo (Credit: \u00a9\ufe0fQueens Zoo | Ursula McDermott) <\/p>\n<p>A New York zoo visitor captured remarkable footage of two young Andean bears appearing to play see-saw with a fallen tree branch.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/queenszoo.com\/\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow external noopener nofollow\">The Queens Zoo<\/a> in New York City released the short video today, which was filmed by zoo guest Ursula McDermott. It shows the bears moving in a steady back-and-forth rhythm on opposite ends of the branch. In the clip which was filmed back in September, Coya, a female approaching her second birthday, is positioned on the right, while Ransisku, a nearly four-year-old male, is on the left.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>The footage shows the pair of Andean Bears as they push, pull, and shift their weight in sync, creating what looks to observers like a coordinated game. Experts at the zoo say the behaviour is typical for the species.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs young bears, Coya and Ransisku are curious about everything in their environment,\u201d Mike Allen, Director of the Queens Zoo, says. \u201cWhile this particular interaction with the branch is unique and fun to watch, it\u2019s very much in line with their natural instinct to explore, climb, and test their surroundings. They\u2019re learning about their habitat\u2014and each other\u2014every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Andean bears, also known as spectacled bears because of the pale markings around their eyes, are the only bear species native to South America. Adults typically reach five to six feet in length, with males weighing up to 340 pounds and females around 200 pounds. The species is highly arboreal and depends on trees for nesting, foraging, and resting.<\/p>\n<p>In the wild, Andean bears are found throughout the Tropical Andes, including Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. They are listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with fewer than 18,000 estimated to remain. Habitat loss and conflict connected to cattle and corn production continue to threaten populations.<\/p>\n<p>The Queens Zoo is operated by the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs conservation programmes across the Andes aimed at protecting remaining bear populations. The zoo also participates in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Program as part of wider efforts to support the species.<\/p>\n<p>Image credits: Header photos by \u00a9\ufe0fQueens Zoo\/Ursula McDermott.<br \/>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A pair of young Andean bears are seen \u201csee-sawing\u201d in Queens Zoo (Credit: \u00a9\ufe0fQueens Zoo | Ursula McDermott)&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310855,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[123849,62765,84621,90,56,54,55,4407],"class_list":{"0":"post-310854","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-andeanbear","9":"tag-bear","10":"tag-newyorkcity","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom","15":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}