For this cuddly bear the necessities of life include a look at the morning newspaper and rigourous yoga stretching. However, the morning routine is not so straightforward for Chaska the one-year-old Andean bear. The newspaper becomes breakfast as Chaska begins to chew it and yoga descends into a wrestling match after her twin-brother, Bernardo, also one, tries to join in. Even the simple act of chewing on sticks becomes a tug of war between the siblings as they playfully vie for supremacy, while being watched by their mother, Billie-Jean, five. Its the final straw for Chaska as eventually she admits defeat and simply munches in peace. Photographer, Jennifer Lockridge, 42 from Maryland, USA took these heart melting pictures of the bear family while visiting the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC. "The Andean Bears at the National Zoo have wonderful personalities," Jennifer explained. "Chaska, Bernardo and Billie Jean were asleep in the straw in the back of the exhibit.   "Both the cubs and their mom woke up and ran to the front of the exhibit.  "Chaska and Bernardo began their play session by wrestling with each other, chewing on sticks and whatever else they could find.   "Chaska soon became frustrated because Bernardo kept stealing her sticks, so she went inside and retrieved her favourite toy- the morning newspaper.   "She then proceeded to play with it, looking as if she was reading and chewing it at times. "Chaska is a very smart bear and it was so funny of her to adopt an almost human-like stance." Chaska, Bernardo and Billie-Jean's keepers use toys to help stimulate the bears and keep both their minds and bodies active. As well as newspapers and sticks they are given bones, which both smell and taste exciting to the bears. Jennifer is a regular at the Smithsonian Zoo. She has been visiting for the past five years to record the lives and antics of the beautiful creatures living there. "I use my photography to raise awareness and funds for endangered animals," said Jennifer. "It is my hope that my photography provides the viewer a moment of beauty, humour or appreciation of what is truly wonderful and beautiful in our world. "Rather than concentrating on the negative images and stories we are bombarded with on a daily basis.   "Hopefully my photos provide a much needed respite and a touch of beauty or happiness." The bears live in a large enclosure in the Smithsonian National Zoo with trees, grasses and bushes to play in.   The exhibit includes climbing structures and a man-made pool for the bears to cool down in. As well as this Andean bear family the zoo is home to 2000 other animals from 400 different species. It is also home to the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, which was launched last year to study endangered species and learn how best to protect them for future generations. The Andean bear is the only species of bear from South America. They are rarely seen in the wild and are classified as at risk because of the destruction to their habitat caused by human deforestation. The bears live in the Andes mountains, in a narrow range which stretches from Colombia in the north of the continent, through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and ends in Argentina. Andean bears dig the earth in search of beetles, worms and insects, which they eat as a source of protein. Jennifer raises money on behalf of the Andean bear conservation charity  HYPERLINK "http://www.andeanbear.org/" www.andeanbear.org