Spectacled Bear

Spectacled Bear, common name for a South American bear with distinctive facial coloring. Spectacled bears are mostly black or brown, mottled with white or cream, sometimes shading to orange, around the chest, neck, and eye areas, often with a ring encircling part of each eye. Relatives of the spectacled bear once occupied much of North America, but the species is now the only member of its genus still existing. Its present range extends from Bolivia to Colombia, where it is restricted to high, steep, rugged areas unsuitable for agriculture.

Spectacled bears are small: The males weigh up to 154 kg (about 340 lb), and the females about 62 kg (about 137 lb). Each foot has five relatively short, sharp, and powerful claws for climbing and tearing apart trees. The bears feed mostly on wild fruits—especially figs—and on leaves, small animals, insects, and succulent herbs and grasses. They often stay in the tops of trees for extended periods, and they build a nest each night for sleeping. They are rather vocal, trilling as they travel, and the young hum when relaxed.

Spectacled bears are not a significant threat to humans, but they can do serious damage to agricultural crops. Killing for meat or to reduce crop damage takes a serious toll on spectacled bear populations. Because of human pressures, their ranges are rapidly shrinking in all countries they occupy; only in Bolivia is their status somewhat secure.

Scientific classification: The spectacled bear belongs to the subfamily Tremarctinae in the family Ursidae, order Carnivora. It is classified as Tremarctos ornatus.