Posted by Search results on
September 3, 2007
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The Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatus), also known as the Andean Bear and locally as ukuko, jukumari or ucumari, is a small species of bear native to South America. It has black fur with a distinctive beige-coloured marking across its face and upper chest. Males can weigh 130 - 200 kg (286 - 440 lbs), and females 60 kg (132 lbs). They are found in several areas of northern and western South America, including western Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, western Bolivia, northwestern Argentina, and eastern Panama. Spectacled bears are the only surviving species of bear native to South America, and the only surviving member of the subfamily Tremarctinae. Next to the Giant Panda, of which the spectacled bear is the closest relative, they are the most endangered species of bear in the world. Their survival has depended mostly on their ability to climb even the highest trees of the Andes and the Amazonian rainforests.