Photo Credit: Amaury Laporte, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Andean Bear

Tremarctos ornatus

Animal Class: Mammal

Length: 47-78 inches

Weight: 77-181 pounds for females; 220-440 pounds for males

Lifespan: 20-30 years

Diet: Mostly herbivorous, but will occasionally eat meat.

Habitat: Humid forests of the Andes mountains in South America.

Description: Also known as spectacled bears for their white facial markings that may resemble spectacles, Andean bears are a mid-sized species of bear. They’re the only extant species of short-faced bear in the world.

Andean bears are frequently arboreal, spending much of their time in trees. They may even build platforms that may aid in concealment and to rest or store food on.

Unlike other bears, Andean bears are largely herbivorous. Very little of their diet is meat. They’re adapted to digest difficult food sources like bark, unopened palm leaves, moss, bamboo hearts, and palm nuts.

Because their native habitat is more temperate all year, Andean bears don’t enter a state of torpor like other bears.

Andean bears are largely solitary, but they aren’t aggressive or territorial. Not much is known about wild Andean bear reproductive habits. Although they don’t hibernate, births in the wild still occur between December and February.

Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Our Animals: Muniri