Spectacled Bear

Spectacled Bear Facts (Tremarctos ornatus)

The Spectacled Bear no doubt has an interesting name. Yet when you look at one you will definitely see where that name comes from. They have rings of color around the eyes that can be white or golden. These make it look like the bears are wearing a pair of glasses when you see them in the daylight. The rest of their fur is either dark brown or dark black. They tend to have fur that is thin compared to other bears, but this is because of the warmer temperatures in that area.

Adult Spectacled Bears can range in size from 175 to 400 pounds. Standing up tall they can be about 7 ½ feet high. The males are larger than the females but both sexes seem to be quite large. You will also notice that they have long claws. They are designed to make it easy to climb into trees.

Distribution

The only bears that live in South America are the Spectacled Bear. They have been identified around Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru.

They are able to successfully thrive in a variety of conditions here. They include dry forest areas, the desert, and plateaus. They enjoy being in warm areas where there is plenty of humidity.

Behavior

These are very shy bears and so it isn’t common that you will see very much of them. In fact, it is believed that they go out of their way to avoid contact with humans. The are nocturnal so the best time to see them is at dawn and at dusk. These bears don’t hibernate as the temperatures are warm enough all year long for them to survive.

Diet and Feeding

The molars of the Spectacled Bear are flat. This allows them to be able to successful chew on tough plants in the wild. Some of these plants include palms, cactus, or the bulbs of orchids. Their diet mainly consists of plant live but they will eat meat from time to time as well.

During certain times of the year when various trees offer fruit, that is what they will feed upon. They can be greedy about it too, sleeping in a given fruit tree so that they can continue to feed on it again after they have rested.

Reproduction

These bears are ready to mate at about four years of age. It isn’t known when they mate or how long the gestation period is. The females will create a nest where she will give birth to her young. The young are born around February which is very different than other bears. However, this is summer like temperatures where they live which makes it work.

Conservation

Due to the unique appearance of the Spectacled Bear, the natives of this area seem to show them honor and respect. It is very seldom that they are hunted for trophies or food. It is hard to know for sure how many of them exist, but the estimate by experts is about 10,000.

Due to the destruction of the forests, it is believed that the number of them has dropped in the last 20 years. However, there doesn’t seem to be a risk of them becoming extinct. There aren’t any real conservation efforts in place for them at this time.

Human interaction

It is very rare that humans will come into contact with the Spectacled Bear in the wild. This is due to the fact that they live in very remote areas around South America. There has been very little accomplished in the way of observing them or monitoring behaviors due to that location. In fact, early writings about these bears were often believed to be make up or legends due to the fact that so few actually saw them.