The REAL Paddington Bear being ‘driven to extinction’ by penis bone poachers brewing ‘magical sex potion’
PENIS poaching of the spectacled bear could result in the species going extinct if demand grows for the special 'sex potion' that people make with its private parts.
Britain's beloved Paddington Bear is based on the spectacled bear but not many people realise his kind could be under threat due to the illegal trade of spectacled bear body parts.
According to , some people in South America claim the 'sex drink' can cure sexual performance problems if it contains just a scraping of a spectacled bear's penis bone.
Some people also believe that the beverage can give you the strength of a whole bear if you put the entire penis bone in the concoction.
The 'sex drink' is called Seven Roots and is said to be made of white rum, seven types of tree bark, honey, pollen, a snake's head, the huanarpo macho plant and a spectacled bear's penis bone.
Traditional healers sell this drink to customers in Peru.
Investigative photojournalist travelled around Peru to investigate the spectacled bear body parts trade.
Also referred to as the Andean bear, the species is often illegally killed in South America for its body parts because lots of them are thought to have medicinal purposes.
The bears fat, teeth and bones are in high demand amongst traditional healers and Berton found part of a penis bone being sold for just over $750 (£593).
A woman running a traditional medicine shop in Peru that she didn't feel bad about the bears potentially going extinct because they were making her so much money.
There are now only around 5,000 spectacled bears in Peru and it is the only native bear species still alive in South America.
Although the spectacled bear body part trade happens all over South America, the problem is thought to be the most severe in Peru.
Harsher fines have been put in place in the country to try and stop the trade and poachers could even go to prison.
There are also a number of charities that have been set up in the hope of protecting and saving the bears.
The history of Paddington Bear
Here's everything you should know about the beloved character...
- Paddington Bear is a fictional British children's book character
- British author Michael Bond released his first book about Paddington in 1958 and the cute creature ended up starring in lots more
- Bond got the idea for Paddington from a lonely teddy bear he saw in a shop window near Paddington Station in London
- Paddington is supposed to be an Andean bear, also known as the spectacled bear, from Peru
- Paddington books have been sold over 30 million times across the globe and have been translated into 30 different languages
- Because Paddington is loved so much as a part of British culture, a Paddington teddy bear was chosen as the first object to be passed over to France from the British tulleners digging the Channel Tunnel in 1994
- Paddington is well known for innocently getting into trouble, loving marmalade sandwiches, wearing a big red hat and a blue coat and being very polite
- Paddington has starred in two films and a TV series about him is expected to come out in 2020
TOP STORIES IN SCIENCE
In other news, giving rabbits lettuce is like feeding them drugs, pet experts have warned.
An extremely rare albino panda has been caught on camera in China.
And, animals are expected to get 25% smaller over the next century as they downsize to survive.
Are you a big fan of Paddington Bear? Let us know in the comments...
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.