| Scientific Name
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Tremarctos ornatus
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| Classification
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Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Ursidae
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| Status
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The Andean bear is listed as vulnerable in the IUCN Red Data Book and as an Appendix I species under CITES. Its numbers in the wild are depleted by hunting and loss of habitat. Increased human populations, agriculture, road building and ineffective conservation practices have contributed to this species decline in the wild.
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| Range
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Mountainous regions of tropical cloud forests, high-altitude savanna, scrublands and humid forests.
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| Habitat
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Western Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, western Bolivia and Panama.
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| Diet
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Mostly herbivorous: eats roots, fruits, berries, leaves, and sometimes insects, rodents and carrion.
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| Size
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Length: 4.5-6 feet
Weight: 200-350 pounds
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| Lifespan
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20 years
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| Location
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Print Fact Sheet
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Andean Bear
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Conservation
Andean Bear bones and fat are used for the local medicinal market and recently reports of poaching for gall bladders for the Asian market have been reported in Ecuador.
Social Structure & Behavior
Andean bears use their long, curved claws for digging in the soil and tearing into logs for food. Their excellent sense of smell aids them in finding various fruits and roots they prefer including in the trees as the Andean bear is an excellent tree climber.
Nocturnal and crepuscular by nature they do not truly hibernate, but will den up in inclement weather.
Andean Bears are most often found in what is called the cloud forest, a lush, misty ecosystem of the Andes Mountains. They play a vital role in the forest by scattering seeds through its droppings, a function called seed dispersal.
When feeding in fruit trees the spectacled bear will bend back many branches forming a "nest" that will serve as a feeding platform and a daytime refuge.
Breeding & Care of Young
Mating pairs usually stay together one or two weeks, copulating many times. While the female is in estrus, which only occurs for one to five days, the male and female go through a ritual of mock fighting and playing until the female is ready to mate
Gestation lasts 5 - 5.5 months resulting in 1-3 cubs. Implantation can be delayed, however, by the female after mating so that births coincide with plentiful food supply. The mother dens up with cubs for several months. Cubs mature at 3 years.
Other Bear Species
The
other bear species have become endangered due to habitat loss and
illegal hunting and trade.
- Panda
bear (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)- fewer than 1,000 survive
in the wild in China. They are classified as endangered.
- Sloth
bear (Ursus ursinus) - found in India, Nepal, Bangladesh,
Sri Lanka. Fewer than 10,000 are believed to survive in the wild.
- Sun
bear (Helarctos malayanus) - found in Malaysia, Indonesia,
Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and southern China.
- Asiatic
black bear (Ursus thibetanus) - found in various areas
in Asia. They are endangered.
- Polar
bear (Ursus maritimus) - found in the Arctic. Population
estimates range from 5,000-19,000 left in the wild. They are listed
as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).
- Spectacled
bear (Andean bear) (Tremarctos ornatus) - found in northwestern
South America. They are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.
- Brown
bears (Ursus arctos) - Three subspecies, U. arctos arctos
(found in Italy), U. arctos pruinosus (found in Tibet),
and U. arctos nelsoni (found in Mexico) are listed as endangered
by the USFWS.
- The
grizzly bear (U. arctos horriblis) is listed as threatened
in the lower 48 states of the U.S. Fewer than 1,000 animals are
left in this region due to habitat loss. (Populations in Alaska
& western Canada, with 50,000 animals, are not classified.)
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