Lima, Nov. 30 — A spectacled bear was photographed for the first time in the Rio Abiseo National Park, a reserve in the Peruvian Amazon region of San Martin, officials said.

Camera traps were used to capture an image of that vulnerable species, also known as the Andean bear, and which is of great cultural and ecological significance in Peru’s Andean and Amazon regions, the National Service of Natural Protected Areas (Sernanp) said.

“These cameras were installed in July in various sections of the park, and as part of our data gathering, evidence of this Andean bear was found, confirming the presence of this species in a place where it had never been reported,” Sernanp specialist Giovanna Chipana added.

She said it was unclear if the spectacled bear, whose scientific name is Tremarctos ornatus, was a male or female but noted that it looked healthy.

The expert also explained that the cloud forest system is ideal for this animal, which is one of eight of the world’s bear species.

A total of 18,000 spectacled bears are estimated to live in the wild in the Andean and Amazon regions of South America, its exclusive habitat.

The majority of the spectacled bear population lives in Peru.

The Rio Abiseo National Park, located in northern Peru, was created in 1983 to protect the fauna and flora of the rainforests characteristic of that region of the Andes, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). EFE