Spectacled Bear - Behavior and Diet

Behavior and Diet

Spectacled bears are one of the half of extant bear species that are habitually arboreal, alongside the American and Asian black bears and the sun bears. Their continued survival alongside humans has depended mostly on their ability to climb even the tallest trees of the Andes. They usually retreat from the presence of 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. Although Spectacled bears are solitary and tend to isolate themselves from one another to avoid competition, they are non-territorial. They have even been recorded to feed in small groups at abundant food sources. Males are reported to have an average home range of 23 km2 (8.9 sq mi) during the wet season and 27 km2 (10 sq mi) during the dry season. Females are reported to have an average home range of 10 km2 (3.9 sq mi) in the wet season and 7 km2 (2.7 sq mi) in the dry season. 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 human deaths have been recorded by South American state governments. The only predators of cubs are cougars and jaguars, though the latter normally has considerably different habitat preferences. Generally, the only threat against adult bears is humans. The longest lived captive bear, at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., attained a lifespan of 36 years and 8 months. Lifespan in the wild has not been studied but bears are believed to commonly live to 20 years or more.

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 nuts, bamboo hearts, orchid bulbs, fallen fruit on the forest floor and unopened palm leaves. They will also peel back tree bark in order to eat the nutritious second layer. Much of this vegetation is very tough to open or digest for most animals and the bear is one of the few species in its range to exploit these food sources. These bears also eat cultivated plants such as 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 horses. Animal prey has included rabbits, mice, other rodents, birds at the nest (especially larger, ground-nesting birds), arthropods 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.