---
title: "What the sources say about the Spectacled Bear | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "39 claims from the Spectacled Bear profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Spectacled Bear (*Tremarctos ornatus*)

> 39 claims from the Spectacled Bear profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Spectacled Bear](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/spectacled-bear/)

## Andean bear. Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/andean-bear

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| South America's only native bear | The Andean bear, or spectacled bear, is the only bear native to South America. (note: tagline) |
| an Andean climber with pale rings around its eyes | Whitish or cream 'spectacles' encircle these bears' eyes. (note: tagline; climbing: 'It is a clever, arboreal animal' / 'Andean bears climb trees and forage on the ground') |
| that builds platforms in the trees | builds platforms and nests in trees for eating and sleeping. (note: tagline) |
| A variety of Andean mountain habitats, from rainforest to thorny dry forest | Andean bears live in a variety of mountain habitats. ... Habitat varies from rainforest, cloud forest and mossy, stunted elfin forest to thorny dry forest. (note: stats.habitat) |
| from western Venezuela south to Bolivia | live in the Andes and outlying mountain ranges, from western Venezuela south to Bolivia. (note: stats.habitat and body) |
| Fruit, bromeliads, berries, grasses and bulbs, plus small animals such as rodents, rabbits and birds | Fruits and bromeliads are favored foods, but Andean bears also eat berries, grasses, bulbs, cactus flowers and small animals such as rodents, rabbits and birds. (note: stats.diet) |
| Builds platforms in trees for eating and sleeping | It is a clever, arboreal animal that builds platforms and nests in trees for eating and sleeping. (note: stats.superpower) |
| has whitish or cream rings around its eyes | Whitish or cream 'spectacles' encircle these bears' eyes. |
| That pale color can extend down to the throat and chest | The light color variably extends down to the animals' throats and chests |
| each bear has its own set, a "fingerprint" of markings | Each individual spectacled bear has its own distinctive set, or "fingerprint," of distinct cream or whitish markings on its head, throat and chest. |
| The thick coat is usually black or brown, sometimes tinged with red. | Andean bears' thick coats are usually either black or brown, occasionally tinged with red. |
| It grows 1.5 to 1.8 meters (5 to 6 feet) long and stands 0.6 to 0.9 meters (2 to 3 feet) high at the shoulder. | Andean bears grow 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 meters) long and stand 2 to 3 feet (0.6 to 0.9 meters) high at the shoulder. |
| Males grow up to 30 percent larger than females and weigh up to 154 kilograms (340 pounds). | Males grow up to 30 percent larger than females, and weigh up to 340 pounds (154 kilograms). |
| Females rarely top 81 kilograms (180 pounds). | Females rarely grow heavier than 180 pounds (81 kilograms). |
| This bear climbs trees as well as foraging on the ground, and it builds stick platforms to reach food that sits high up. | Andean bears climb trees and forage on the ground. They will build stick platforms to reach elevated food |
| Fruit and bromeliads are favorites, but the menu also takes in berries, grasses, bulbs, cactus flowers and small animals such as rodents, rabbits and birds. | Fruits and bromeliads are favored foods, but Andean bears also eat berries, grasses, bulbs, cactus flowers and small animals such as rodents, rabbits and birds. |
| Near settlements, bears sometimes raid cornfields. | Near settlements, bears sometimes raid cornfields. |
| It is the only bear native to South America. | is the only bear native to South America. |
| It lives in the Andes and outlying mountain ranges, from western Venezuela south to Bolivia. | live in the Andes and outlying mountain ranges, from western Venezuela south to Bolivia. |
| Many live between 1,829 and 2,682 meters (6,000 and 8,800 feet) above sea level, and others live lower. | Many live between 6,000 and 8,800 feet (1,829 to 2,682 meters) above sea level, although others inhabit lower elevations. |
| Their habitats run from rainforest to thorny dry forest. | Habitat varies from rainforest, cloud forest and mossy, stunted elfin forest to thorny dry forest. |
| In human care, the average age is around 20 years, and it is not uncommon for a bear to live into its late twenties or occasionally its early thirties. | While their average age in human care is around 20 years, it is not uncommon for them to live into their late twenties or occasionally into their early thirties. |
| How long they live in the wild is unknown. | The Andean bear's longevity in the wild is unknown. |
| Habitat destruction and hunting are the greatest threats. | Habitat destruction and hunting pose the greatest threats to their survival. |
| Poachers sell bear parts to traditional medicine dealers or eat the meat, and people kill bears where they raid cornfields and because they wrongly believe the bears kill livestock. | Poachers sell bear parts to traditional medicine dealers or eat the bear's meat. In addition, people kill bears where they raid cornfields and because they erroneously believe they kill livestock. |
| Numbers fell sharply in recent decades in Venezuela, Colombia and Peru, but healthy populations remain in Ecuador and Bolivia. | In recent decades, spectacled bear numbers declined dramatically in Venezuela, Colombia and Peru. However, healthy populations remain in Ecuador and Bolivia. |
| Females experience delayed implantation of the embryo. | Females experience delayed implantation. |
| This allows a female to give birth when food is plentiful, usually between November and February. | This allows the female to give birth during a time when food is abundant—usually between November and February. |
| If resources are short, the embryo does not implant. | If there are insufficient resources, the embryo will not implant. |
| She has one or two cubs, which are practically bald, toothless and blind at birth, and which usually stay in the den until they are about 3 months old. | The female gives birth to one or two cubs. Newborn cubs weigh 10 to 18 ounces at birth, and they are practically bald, toothless and blind. ... Generally, the cubs do not leave the safety of the den until they are about 3 months old. |
| By day it sleeps in secluded spots: tree cavities, tree platforms, gaps between large exposed tree roots and dens dug into cliff faces. | During the day, Andean bears sleep in secluded spots, such as in tree cavities, on tree platforms, between large, exposed tree roots, or in dens dug into cliff faces. |
| A spectacled bear builds stick platforms in the trees to reach food that sits high up. | They will build stick platforms to reach elevated food |

## Tremarctos ornatus (spectacled bear). AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Tremarctos_ornatus

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The maximum recorded in AnAge, a database of animal lifespans, is 39 years, for a wild-born bear that died in captivity. | Maximum longevity 39 years (captivity) |
| a wild-born bear that died in captivity | One wild born animal was about 39 years of age when it died in captivity |

## Vela-Vargas et al. (2021). Tremarctos ornatus(Carnivora: Ursidae). Mammalian Species.

https://doi.org/10.1093/mspecies/seab008

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| It is a medium-sized bear. | It is a medium-sized bear with black to dark red-brown pelage |

## Mitchell et al. (2016). Ancient mitochondrial DNA reveals convergent evolution of giant short-faced bears (Tremarctinae) in North and South America. Biology Letters.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2016.0062

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The spectacled bear is the only living tremarctine, a subfamily of bears found only in the New World. | The Tremarctinae are a subfamily of bears endemic to the New World ... The only living tremarctine is the spectacled bear |
| Its extinct relatives include two of the largest land mammal carnivores that have ever lived, the giant short-faced bears, at 1,000 kilograms or more. | including two of the largest terrestrial mammalian carnivores that have ever lived: the giant, short-faced bears Arctodus simus from North America and Arctotherium angustidens from South America (greater than or equal to 1000 kg) |
| DNA from a thigh bone found in a Chilean cave showed that the South American short-faced bears were more closely related to the spectacled bear than to the short-faced bears of North America. | we sequenced a mitochondrial genome from an Arctotherium femur preserved in a Chilean cave. Our molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed that the South American short-faced bears were more closely related to the extant South American spectacled bear than to the North American short-faced bears. (note: femur = thigh bone) |

## Velez-Liendo & García-Rangel (2017). Tremarctos ornatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22066A123792952.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2017-3.rlts.t22066a45034047.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The IUCN rates the species Vulnerable. | IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU). (note: GBIF's copy of the Red List, taxon 22066, matches the DOI) |