Andean Bear - Printable Version

Andean Bear - Printable Version

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RE: Andean Bear - epaiva - 01-07-2018

Pictures taken in Zoologico Chorros de Milla in Merida, Venezuela.
I went to their natural habitat in the Andes of Estado Merida in Venezuela with out luck trying to see a wild Andean Bear. The good news is that they are doing ok in parts of Venezuela far away from people very hight on the mountains.

*This image is copyright of its original author

RE: Andean Bear - epaiva - 01-07-2018

Pictures of their natural habitat in the Venezuelan Andes in Estado Merida.

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RE: Andean Bear - epaiva - 02-11-2018

Credit to John Van Der Dol

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RE: Andean Bear - epaiva - 02-18-2018

Very large male in Colombia credit to @parquescolombia

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RE: Andean Bear - brotherbear - 02-19-2018

I wonder if there are any real studies being done on these last of the short-faced bears? I would like to see the results of a comparison between an Andean bear and an American black bear of similar size. How are they different in anatomy and in their habits. If the Andean bear were to become extinct, then our chance of such a study is gone forever.

RE: Andean Bear - Spalea - 02-19-2018

@~~brotherbear~~ :

At first sight, I consider too the Andean bear as being the last short faced bear on Earth. But does the Andean bear have a 100% meat diet ? Is he a pure scavenger ? If not, what are the way of living differences ? How would he be if he would have the same size ? But the environments in which they both live (and lived) are not the same at all. Probably, the Andean bear's reduced size is an answer to this big difference. The nutritionnal needs aren't the same and in addition to that, the Andean bear has surely a more varied diet. And thus, being not cofronted to the same nutritionnal needs (because of his reduced size), he has a more comfortable life.

I think we have the answers, even if the question would never have been so formulated.

RE: Andean Bear - brotherbear - 02-19-2018

Spalea

I am speaking of bloodline; the short-faced bear DNA. The Andean bear is from a completely different lineage from the genu Ursus. He is of the genus Tremarctos. He is in fact the last of the short-faced bears, more closely related to Arctotherium than Arctodus simus was. And closely related to the Florida cave bear.

RE: Andean Bear - brotherbear - 03-16-2018

https://www.bearbiology.com/bear-species/andean-bear/

Appearance

The spectacled bear is small and dark, ranging in color from black to brown, and a few have a reddish tinge. It has distinctive circular or semicircular creamy white markings on the face around the eyes, reminiscent of spectacles. Lines and patches of white usually extend onto the throat and chest as well. The amount and pattern of the white markings can be quite variable.

Size

There are few measurements available for this bear. However, the body length of adults is about 150 to 180 centimeters (60 to 72 inches) and males may be 30 to 40 percent larger than females. Males weigh 100 to 155 kilograms (220 t o 340 pounds) and females weigh 64 to 82 kilograms (140 to 180 pounds). At birth, cubs weigh from 300 to 360 grams (10 to 11 1/2 ounces).

Habitat

Spectacled bears are highly adaptable and are found in a wide range of habitats, including rainforest, cloud forest, dry forest, steppe lands, and coastal scrub desert. Possibly because of loss of habitat and persecution by humans, they appear to be more common in heavy forest. They have been reported at altitudes ranging from about 180 to 4,200 meters (600 to 13,800 feet) but prefer moist forests between about 1,800 and 2,700 meters (6,000 and 8,800 feet). No populations have been documented from areas that lack bromeliads and fruits.

Distribution

Spectacled bears are found mainly in or near forested mountains from Venezuela and Colombia south through Ecuador, Peru, and into Bolivia.

Reproduction

Females reach sexual maturity between four and seven years of age. Mating occurs in April, May, and June, and pairs stay together for a week or two, with copulation occurring numerous times. Litters of one, two, or occasionally three cubs are born from November to February.

Social System

Nothing is known of the social organization of spectacled bears in the wild. In captivity, females and their cubs regularly vocalize to communicate, using two and five types of calls respectively.

Diet

Spectacled bears eat a wide variety of foods, including rabbits, mice, birds, berries, grasses, and orchid bulbs, but have a strong preference for the leaves, bases, and hearts of plants of the Bromeliaceae family and the fruits of other plant groups. They will sometimes climb cacti to feed on fruit at the top. Tree nests are often constructed as a platform to feed from fruit-laden branches and to sleep in.

RE: Andean Bear - brotherbear - 03-16-2018

http://shaggygod.proboards.com/

Does the jaguar limit the presence of the Andean bear in the Amazon rainforest?

It was previously noted that the Andean bear seemed to avoid the jaguar, since its altitudinal ranges in Peru and Bolivia did not overlap on the slope of a single mountain [b](Peyton 1999)[/b]. However, in this study it was determined that in the same areas
where the Andean bear was recorded in the PNYC-RCY and the RCA, a high
activity of the jaguar, presenting a greater relative abundance than the bear. Moreover
in the PNYC, in a tree of [i]Ormosia[/i] sp. (Fabaceae) were found marks
left by an Andean bear and a big cat, the later very likely a
jaguar.

This suggests that the presence of the jaguar would not influence the displacement of the

Andean bear to and in the BTA, at least in the directly evaluated areas.

RE: Andean Bear - brotherbear - 03-19-2018

http://www.arkive.org/spectacled-bear/tremarctos-ornatus/

http://www.animalspot.net/spectacled-bear.html

Both the jaguar and the puma are known to prey upon Andean bear cubs. There is no evidence of big cat predation on adult bears in South America. The only predator of the Andean bear are humans.

RE: Andean Bear - epaiva - 03-27-2018

Credit to Andean Bear Researcher Denis Alexander Torres and information taken from the book Bears of the World (Paul Ward & Suzanne Kynaston)

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RE: Andean Bear - epaiva - 03-30-2018

Book Carnivores of the World - Luke Hunter Illusttated by Priscilla Barrett

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RE: Andean Bear - Polar - 03-31-2018

(03-16-2018, 03:59 AM)brotherbear Wrote: Diet

Spectacled bears eat a wide variety of foods, including rabbits, mice, birds, berries, grasses, and orchid bulbs, but have a strong preference for the leaves, bases, and hearts of plants of the Bromeliaceae family and the fruits of other plant groups. They will sometimes climb cacti to feed on fruit at the top. Tree nests are often constructed as a platform to feed from fruit-laden branches and to sleep in.

That is a biggie for bear intelligence; creative capacity.

RE: Andean Bear - Rishi - 03-31-2018

(03-31-2018, 12:46 AM)Polar Wrote:
(03-16-2018, 03:59 AM)brotherbear Wrote: Tree nests are often constructed as a platform to feed from fruit-laden branches and to sleep in.

That is a biggie for bear intelligence; creative capacity.

*This image is copyright of its original author

RE: Andean Bear - Polar - 03-31-2018

I have never seen a grizzly, sun bear, or black bear do anything similarly remote to this...just wow @Rishi.