cloud brother

Wayqecha Biological Station · Cloud Forest, Peruvian Andes · 2025 · 15 min

Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya, an Andean woman ans National Geographic Explorer, wearing a beige hiking hat and blue shirt, carrying a backpack, looks up at green mountains with clouds in the background during a hike at Wayqecha Biological Station in Peru

Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya grew up in the Andes hearing stories of "Ukuku", the legendary Andean Bear. Today, the biologist and National Geographic Explorer leads research at Wayqecha Biological Station, high up in the Peruvian Andes.

Here, in Peru's only permanent cloud forest research station, interconnected projects on climate change, reforestation, and wildlife study converge around a shared goal: understanding and protecting one of Earth's most fragile ecosystems.

From cloud exclusion experiments to reforestation efforts using seeds gathered from the forest itself, Wayqecha is a place where science and conservation are inseparable.

And at the centre of it all is a woman who has dedicated her life to the wild that shaped her.

stills

  • Aerial view of houses of Wayqecha Biological Station with colorful roofs surrounded by dense greenery and fog in a mountainous area of the Andean cloud forest in Peru. Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya leads the Andean Bear Research project here.
  • Person at Wayqecha Biological Station wearing blue gloves and a light blue protective suit handling a small plastic bag containing plant material over a clear container with soil or roots, with other containers and plant samples in the background.
  • A scenic view of lush, green mountains with a cloudy sky overhead and a turquoise-colored bridge or dam structure in the foreground at Wayqecha Biological Station in the high Andean cloud forest of Peru.
  • Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya, an Andean woman outdoors in a forest with a tan hat and a blue shirt examining green moss and plants on a tree trunk at Wayqecha Biological Station in the high Andean cloud forest in Peru
  • Trail camera capturing a black Andean bear sitting on forest ground with green foliage and trees in the background at Wayqecha Biological Station with Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya leading the research project.
  • Close-up of a person wearing a white jacket with a logo featuring a bear's face and the text 'Conferencia Mundial Anual Ukuku' embroidered on it, with the person's arm and part of their torso visible at Wayqecha Biological Station

Credits

Director & Camera Marc Ferrum
Edit Marc Ferrum & Luke Pembroke

Featuring Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya

In collaboration with
Wayqecha Biological Station
Conservación Amazónica – ACCA

Music licensed via Artlist.io:
Corteza by Migra・The Raven by Jozeque・Convolution by Asmos Ever Hadani・Deepest Dive by Tiko Tiko・Atmo by Jamie Bathgate・Days of Wonder by Clemens Ruh・The Magic Forest by Itamar Doari・Another Planet by Jordi Dalmau・Over the Horizon by TURPAK


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