The Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatus)

Jan 01, 2017 Features / Columnists, Interesting Creatures in Guyana

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The spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) also known as the Andean bear or Andean short-faced bear is the last remaining short-faced bear (subfamily Tremarctinae).

Spectacled bears are the only surviving species of bear native to South America, and the only surviving member of the subfamily Tremarctinae. The species is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN because of habitat loss.
The spectacled bear is technically the largest land carnivore on the continent, although as little as five percent of its diet is composed of meat. South America’s largest obligate carnivorous mammal is the jaguar (Panthera onca). Among South America’s extant, native land animals, only the Baird’s (Tapirus bairdii) and South American tapirs (T. terrestris) are heavier than this species.
The spectacled bear is a mid-sized species of bear. Overall, its fur is blackish in colour, though bears may vary from jet black to dark brown and to even a reddish hue. The species typically has distinctive beige or ginger-coloured markings across its face and upper chest, though not all spectacled bears have “spectacle” markings. The pattern and extent of pale markings are slightly different on each individual bear, and bears can be readily distinguished by this.
Males are a third larger than females in dimensions and sometimes twice their weight. Males can weigh from 100 to 200 kg (220 to 440 lb), and females can weigh from 35 to 82 kg (77 to 181 lb). Head-and-body length can range from 120 to 200 cm (47 to 78.5 in), though mature males do not measure less than 150 cm (59 in). The tail is a mere seven cm (2.8 in) in length, and the shoulder height is from 60 to 90 cm (23.5 to 35.5 in).
Compared to other living bears, this species has a more rounded face with a relatively short and broad snout. In some extinct species of the Tremarctinae subfamily, this facial structure has been thought to be an adaptation to a largely carnivorous diet, despite the modern spectacled bears’ herbivorous dietary preferences.
Despite some rare spilling-over into eastern Panama, spectacled bears are mostly restricted to certain areas of northern and western South America. They can range in western Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, western Bolivia, and northwestern Argentina.
The species is found almost entirely in the Andes Mountains. Before spectacled bear populations became fragmented during the last 500 years, the species had a reputation for being adaptable, as it is found in a wide variety of habitats and altitudes throughout its range, including cloud forests, high-altitude grasslands, dry forests and scrub deserts.
A single spectacled bear population on the border of Peru and Ecuador inhabited as great a range of habitat types as the world’s brown bears (Ursus arctos) now occupy.
The best habitats for spectacled bears are humid to very humid montane forests. These cloud forests typically occupy a 500 to 1,000 m (1,600 to 3,300 ft) elevational band between 1,000 and 2,700 m (3,300 and 8,900 ft) depending on latitude.
Generally, the wetter these forests are the more food species there are that can support bears. Occasionally, they may reach altitudes as low as 250 m (820 ft), but are not typically found below 1,900 m (6,200 ft) in the foothills. They can even range up to the mountain snow line at over 5,000 m (16,000 ft) in elevation.
Mating may occur at almost any time of the year, but activity normally peaks in April and June, at the beginning of the wet season and corresponding with the peak of fruit-ripening. The mating pair are together for one to two weeks, during which they will copulate multiple times. Births usually occur in the dry season, between December and February. The gestation period is 5.5 to 8.5 months. The cubs are born with their eyes closed and weigh about 300 to 330 g (11 to 12 oz) each.
Although this species does not give birth during the hibernation cycle as do northern bear species, births usually occur in a small den and the female waits until the cubs can see and walk before she leaves with them. The size of the litter has been positively correlated with both the weight of the female and the abundance and variety of food sources, particularly the degree to which fruiting is temporally predictable. The cubs often stay with the female for one year before striking out on their own. Breeding maturity is estimated to be reached at between four and seven years of age for both sexes, based solely on captive bears.
The Andean bear is threatened due to poaching and habitat loss. Poaching might have several reasons: trophy hunting, pet trade, religious or magical beliefs, natural products trade and conflicts with humans. (Source: Wikipedia)

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