Genevieve Hamelin has created a french website for bear awareness and information sharing. Her site explores how bears are represented through art and culture, and includes drawings, paintings and photos to help us better understand the species. You can translate the site into English. Genevieve's website features UFP on her site.

Angela Devlin celebrates her birthday on January 29. She set up a charity cause on facebook asking friends to donate to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre to make her birthday wish come true.

Ursa Freedom Project has selected the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre as its charity cause for 2010, so my birthday wish for the sun bears is also on facebook. Raising money to save orphaned sun bear cubs through a birthday wish is pure joy for everyone. So jump on the bandwagon and make a birthday wish for the world's smallest bear.

UFP member Gerhard Kaiser celebrated his birthday on December 24th and made a Birthday Wish for Charity on facebook. HIs chosen charity? Ursa Freedom Project. UFP routed the donated money to Animals Asia Foundation (AAF) to support their efforts to rescue bears from bile farms. AAF was the charity cause for UFP in 2009.

Kelly McKenna, UFP member and founder of Bear Necessity Korea, appeared on the radio show Seoul Report to discuss the important role moon bears have played in Korea's history, and to inform audiences about how they are treated today. Less than 20 moon bears remain wild in Korea's forests, compared to the 1,600 moon bears that are held captive on bear bile farms, where they are tortured for their bile to make Asian medicine. Kelly's radio segment aired internationally on January 2.

When Cynthia Silk joined UFP she made a public commitment to "support UFP and spread the word about this site to as many people as possible." Cynthia has created a Cause page and special group for UFP at Spirit Channeler and Metaphysical Realm.

UFP member Sandrine created this piece of art. See more original works of art in our Art for the Bears photo album under the Resources tab.

Raincoast purchased a 24,000 sq km Guide Outfitting Territory in 2005 to end the commercial trophy hunting of grizzlies, black bears and wolves. They plan to do it again in 2010, and they need our help.

UFP Member Sandra Miller raises funds for panda conservation through sales of her one-of-a-kind jewelry. She visits panda centers and says, "My goal at the panda centers is to get more details about new breakthroughs in panda conservation." Sandra also raises funds to save moon bears from bile farms and fund conservation programs for critically endangered Asian Elephants. Watch Sandra's video and read about her inspired actions on her profile page.

After 20 years since it was held in Chicago (USA), the International Symposium on the Andean Bear was held in Lima, Peru November 8-14, and with great success. Read more.

Deepak Chopra speaks against British Columbia's Trophy Bear Hunt while speaking for the wisdom and wonder of nature and her affect on our soul.

Stop local and internet wildlife crimes involving Vietnam wildlife. Report anything suspect to ENV so they can take action.

Raincoast Conservation is advocating for British Columbia's first fully protected salmon runs.

The move is an effort to save the grizzly bear species. This bold and ambitious proposal runs contrary to the historical underpinnings of salmon management, as fisheries managers have always assumed that salmon exist exclusively for human consumption.

According to Raincoast, it is a matter of competition, and the odds are stacked against carnivores in these coastal salmon forests.

Help save a moonbear's life. Visit the group Save Miracle the Bear. Artwork by Sandrine

Ursa Freedom Project is an independent project driven by people who are passionate about conserving bears and their habitat.

UFP mission
Ursa Freedom Project collaborates with others to give voice to the world’s bears through story and art so they may grow into a larger collective destiny with humans to heal their circumstances.

UFP focus
Six of the world’s eight bear species are threatened with extinction as a result of human activities. Even "least concern" species such as the brown bear are at risk of extirpation in certain countries. Many threats face each bear species, making strategies for local conservation necessary.

UFP strategy
UFP collaborates with organizations and individuals to assist on-the-ground conservation efforts in local communities. We enfold bears into story so their voice is heard and validated -- an act that allows bears to be received into culture and their lives transformed through acceptance. UFP advocates to conserve bears and their habitat and to free bears from persecution and exploitation by unleashing the power of knowledge and collective visualization to open hearts to understanding, wisdom, compassion and tolerance.

Story behind the name Ursa
Ursa Major (the Great Bear) is the third largest constellation in the sky. What is most familiar are the seven stars which make up the rump and tail of the constellation; we know them as the Big Dipper.

One Greek myth tells that the nymph Callisto, a servant of the hunter Artemis was made to bear a child by Zeus. Artemis banished Callisto for impurity.

Artemis gave birth to the child named Arcas. This made Zeus' wife Hera very jealous and, in revenge, Hera turned Callisto into a bear which ran away into the forest.

Arcas grew up to become a hunter. One day while he was hunting, the bear Callisto heard Arcas' voice and rushed to greet her son. Arcas, not knowing the bear was his mother, was about to kill her when Zeus intervened and sent both mother and son into the sky as the Greater and Lesser Bears.

Zeus grabbed them by their tails and flung them into the sky, and that is why these two bears have long tails.

Today, most of us need to use a lot of imagination to see the bear; however, cultures around the world have always turned to story to better understand the world and the role humans play in it. from starryskies.com

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