Spectacled Bear
Encyclopedia
The spectacled bear also known as the Andean bear and locally as ukuko, jukumari or ucumari, is the last remaining short-faced bear (subfamily Tremarctinae
) and the closest living relative to the Florida spectacled bear and short-faced bears
of the Middle Pleistocene
to Late Pleistocene
age.
The spectacled bear is a relatively small species of bear
native to South America
, where it is second only to the three tapir
species as the largest extant land mammal. It has black fur with a distinctive beige-coloured marking across its face and upper chest, though not all Andean bears have "spectacle" markings. Males are a third larger than females in dimensions and sometimes twice their weight. Males can weigh 100 – 200 kilogram
s (220 – 440 lb
), and females 35 –82 kilograms (77 – 181 lb). Length can range from 120 to 200 cm (47–79 in) long and shoulder height from 60 to 90 cm (24–30 in). They are found in several areas of northern and western South America, including eastern Panama
, western Venezuela
, Colombia
, Ecuador
, Peru
, western Bolivia
, and northwestern Argentina
. Spectacled bears are the only surviving species of bear native to South America, and the only surviving member of the subfamily Tremarctinae
. Their survival has depended mostly on their ability to climb even the tallest trees of the Andes
.
in some individuals, or the "Andean bear" for its distribution along the Andes.
The root trem- comes from a Greek word meaning "hole;" arctos is the Greek word for "bear." Tremarctos is a reference to an unusual hole on the animal's humerus
. Ornatus, Latin for "decorated", is a reference to the markings that give the bear its common English name.
Although the bears tend to isolate themselves from one another to avoid competition, they are non-territorial. When encountered by humans or other spectacled bears, they will react in a docile but cautious manner, unless the intruder is seen as a threat or a mother's cubs are endangered. Like other bears, mothers are protective of their young and have attacked poachers. However, no deaths have been recorded by South American state governments. They usually attempt to retreat from humans, often by climbing trees. Once up a tree, they often build a platform, perhaps to aid in concealment, as well as to rest and store food on. The only predators of cubs are cougars and jaguar
s, generally the only threat against adult bears is humans.
Spectacled bears are more herbivorous than most other bears; normally about 5 to 7% of their diet is meat. The most common foods for these bears include cactus
, palm nut
s, orchid bulbs, fallen fruit
on the forest floor and unopened palm
leaves. Much of this vegetation is very tough to open or digest for most animals and the bear is one of the few to exploit these food sources. These bears also eat sugarcane
, honey
and corn
and have been known to travel above the tree line for berries and bromeliads. Animal prey is usually quite small but these bears can predate adult deer
, llama
and domestic cattle
and horse
s. Animal prey has included rabbit
s, mice
, other rodent
s, bird
s at the nest (especially larger, ground-nesting birds), arthropod
s and carrion
. They are occasionally accused of killing livestock, especially cattle
, and raiding corn fields. Allegedly, some bears become habituated to eating cattle but the bears are actually more likely to eat cattle as carrion and some farmers may accidentally assume the spectacled bear killed them. Due to fear of loss of stock, bears may be killed on sight.
The spectacled bear population is under threat for a number of reasons.
The bears are hunted by locals due to a belief they will eat livestock (although spectacled bears do not eat large quantities of meat). The gall bladders of spectacled bears are also valued in traditional Chinese medicine
and can fetch a high price on the international market. Extensive logging and farming have led to a loss of habitat for the bears.
In the documentary Paddington Bear: The Early Years, British actor Stephen Fry
encounters a Spectacled bear called Yogi, who was kept in a small cage by Andean villagers (see also Paddington Bear
). Fry bartered with the villagers to have the bear released and it was taken to an enclosure in Machu Picchu
. Fry's interest in the bears led to the follow-up documentary, Stephen Fry and the Spectacled Bears, and he also wrote and published his experiences in Rescuing the Spectacled Bear: A Peruvian Diary.
In the BBC
television programme Serious Andes a team of eight teenagers build a pre-release enclosure for two spectacled bears before returning them to the wild. The BBC documentary "Spectacled Bears: Shadows of the Forest" looks at some of the bear research being done in Peru and Ecuador and what the researchers are discovering.
www.sbc-peru.org
Tremarctinae
Tremarctinae is a term for the subfamily of Ursidae containing one living representative, the Spectacled Bear of South America, and several extinct species from four genera: the Florida spectacled bear , the North American short-faced bears of genera Plionarctos and Arctodus Tremarctinae is a...
) and the closest living relative to the Florida spectacled bear and short-faced bears
Arctodus
Arctodus — known as the short-faced bear or bulldog bear — is an extinct genus of bear endemic to North America during the Pleistocene ~3.0 Ma.—11,000 years ago, existing for approximately three million years. Arctodus simus may have once been Earth's largest mammalian, terrestrial carnivore...
of the Middle Pleistocene
Middle Pleistocene
The Middle Pleistocene, more specifically referred to as the Ionian stage, is a period of geologic time from ca. 781 to 126 thousand years ago....
to Late Pleistocene
Late Pleistocene
The Late Pleistocene is a stage of the Pleistocene Epoch. The beginning of the stage is defined by the base of the Eemian interglacial phase before the final glacial episode of the Pleistocene 126,000 ± 5,000 years ago. The end of the stage is defined exactly at 10,000 Carbon-14 years BP...
age.
The spectacled bear is a relatively small species of bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
native to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, where it is second only to the three tapir
Tapir
A Tapir is a large browsing mammal, similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. There are four species of Tapirs: the Brazilian Tapir, the Malayan Tapir, Baird's Tapir and the Mountain...
species as the largest extant land mammal. It has black fur with a distinctive beige-coloured marking across its face and upper chest, though not all Andean bears have "spectacle" markings. Males are a third larger than females in dimensions and sometimes twice their weight. Males can weigh 100 – 200 kilogram
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...
s (220 – 440 lb
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
), and females 35 –82 kilograms (77 – 181 lb). Length can range from 120 to 200 cm (47–79 in) long and shoulder height from 60 to 90 cm (24–30 in). They are found in several areas of northern and western South America, including eastern Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, western Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, western Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, and northwestern Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. Spectacled bears are the only surviving species of bear native to South America, and the only surviving member of the subfamily Tremarctinae
Tremarctinae
Tremarctinae is a term for the subfamily of Ursidae containing one living representative, the Spectacled Bear of South America, and several extinct species from four genera: the Florida spectacled bear , the North American short-faced bears of genera Plionarctos and Arctodus Tremarctinae is a...
. Their survival has depended mostly on their ability to climb even the tallest trees of the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
.
Naming and etymology
Tremarctos ornatus is commonly referred to in English as the "spectacled bear", a reference to the light colouring on its chest, neck and face which may resemble eyeglassesGlasses
Glasses, also known as eyeglasses , spectacles or simply specs , are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes. They are normally used for vision correction or eye protection. Safety glasses are a kind of eye protection against flying debris or against visible and near visible light or...
in some individuals, or the "Andean bear" for its distribution along the Andes.
The root trem- comes from a Greek word meaning "hole;" arctos is the Greek word for "bear." Tremarctos is a reference to an unusual hole on the animal's humerus
Humerus
The humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow....
. Ornatus, Latin for "decorated", is a reference to the markings that give the bear its common English name.
Behavior and diet
Jaguar
The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
s, generally the only threat against adult bears is humans.
Spectacled bears are more herbivorous than most other bears; normally about 5 to 7% of their diet is meat. The most common foods for these bears include cactus
Cactus
A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
, palm nut
Palm nut
Palm nut can refer to:*The fruit of the oil palm tree*The fruit or seed of any palm tree...
s, orchid bulbs, fallen fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
on the forest floor and unopened palm
Palm
Palm may refer to :* Palm, the central region of the front of the hand, see Hand#Human anatomy or metacarpus.-People:* August Palm , Swedish socialist activist* Conny Palm, , Swedish electrical engineer and statistician...
leaves. Much of this vegetation is very tough to open or digest for most animals and the bear is one of the few to exploit these food sources. These bears also eat sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
, honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
and corn
Corn
Corn is the name used in the United States, Canada, and Australia for the grain maize.In much of the English-speaking world, the term "corn" is a generic term for cereal crops, such as* Barley* Oats* Wheat* Rye- Places :...
and have been known to travel above the tree line for berries and bromeliads. Animal prey is usually quite small but these bears can predate adult deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, llama
Llama
The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
and domestic cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
and horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s. Animal prey has included rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s, mice
MICE
-Fiction:*Mice , alien species in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*The Mice -Acronyms:* "Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions", facilities terminology for events...
, other rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s, bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s at the nest (especially larger, ground-nesting birds), arthropod
Arthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
s and carrion
Carrion
Carrion refers to the carcass of a dead animal. Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters include vultures, hawks, eagles, hyenas, Virginia Opossum, Tasmanian Devils, coyotes, Komodo dragons, and burying beetles...
. They are occasionally accused of killing livestock, especially cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, and raiding corn fields. Allegedly, some bears become habituated to eating cattle but the bears are actually more likely to eat cattle as carrion and some farmers may accidentally assume the spectacled bear killed them. Due to fear of loss of stock, bears may be killed on sight.
Conservation
The bears are hunted by locals due to a belief they will eat livestock (although spectacled bears do not eat large quantities of meat). The gall bladders of spectacled bears are also valued in traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...
and can fetch a high price on the international market. Extensive logging and farming have led to a loss of habitat for the bears.
In the documentary Paddington Bear: The Early Years, British actor Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
encounters a Spectacled bear called Yogi, who was kept in a small cage by Andean villagers (see also Paddington Bear
Paddington Bear
Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He appeared on 13 October 1958 and was subsequently featured in several books, most recently in 2008, written by Michael Bond and first illustrated by Peggy Fortnum....
). Fry bartered with the villagers to have the bear released and it was taken to an enclosure in Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian 15th-century Inca site located above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for...
. Fry's interest in the bears led to the follow-up documentary, Stephen Fry and the Spectacled Bears, and he also wrote and published his experiences in Rescuing the Spectacled Bear: A Peruvian Diary.
In the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television programme Serious Andes a team of eight teenagers build a pre-release enclosure for two spectacled bears before returning them to the wild. The BBC documentary "Spectacled Bears: Shadows of the Forest" looks at some of the bear research being done in Peru and Ecuador and what the researchers are discovering.
External links
www.sbc-peru.org