Escudo de la República de Colombia Escudo de la República de Colombia
Panel de Accesibilidad

✎ Natalia Guzmán

✎ Natalia Guzmán

✎ Camilo Alméciga

Spectacled Bear
Tremarctos ornatusAndean region

  • Generalities
  • Morpho-functionality
  • Lifecycle
  • Distribution

RECORRIDO VIRTUAL POR LA BIODIVERSIDAD DE COLOMBIA
Museo de Historia Natural
Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Spectacled Bear
Tremarctos ornatus

It is the only South American bear, it has diurnal habits. Its diet is omnivorous, it feeds on arthropods, reptiles, small, medium and large mammals although they prefer bromeliads and fruits. It is black with a spot around the eyes usually in the shape of glasses, hence its common name. They can weigh 120 kg and measure 190 cm in length. It is at risk from habitat loss and because people in the regions where it lives consider it a danger to livestock.

Conservation status

Extinct

Extinct in the Wild

Critically Endangered

Endangered

Vulnerable

Near Threatened

Least Concern

Not Evaluated

Data Deficient

Morpho-functionality

Spots

The light spots on their faces are so variable that they become unique to each individual.

Legs

Its front legs are longer than its back legs and thanks to its plantigrade posture it can easily climb trees.

Jaws

It has the largest mandibular zygomatic muscle of all bears, which is attributed to the switch to a primarily herbivorous diet.

Lifecycle

This species has only one estrus per year (monestral) and is probably capable of delaying the implantation of the ovum, this would explain the variation in gestation times. Females can breed every two years and can have one to four cubs, which are born with their eyes closed and weighing around 300 g. The cubs can stay with the mother for up to a little over a year. The male is not involved in raising the babies and may actually eat them if it bumps into one. Both males and females reach sexual maturity between four and six years of age and a life expectancy is estimated in 20 years.

Spectacled Bear

Distribution

It can be found in different habitats throughout the Andes mountain range. In cloud forests, which is where it finds most food and shelter, but it can also be found in paramos, bushes and grasslands. This bear is believed to be able to migrate between habitats according to the season, but the timing of these migrations and what drives them is unknown.

Distribution area