# Spectacled bear (*Tremarctos ornatus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/spectacled-bear  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), also called the Andean bear, Mountain bear or Andean short-faced bear, is a mammal in the bear family Ursidae, order Carnivora. It is a large, terrestrial and nocturnal bear with a representative adult body mass of 140 kg. Its diet category is frugivore and its trophic level is herbivore. The species is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, a threatened category, and has a gestation period of 225.5 days with 1.5 young per litter.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 109.2 kg – 140 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 36.4 years |
| Diet | Frugivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 39.3 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | mountain |
| Gestation | 226 days – 254 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1.5 |
| Age at maturity | 4 years |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Ursidae
- genus: Tremarctos
- species: *Tremarctos ornatus* (F. G. Cuvier, 1825)

Synonyms: *Tremarctos lasallei*, *Tremarctos ornatus majori*, *Ursus frugilegus*, *Ursus nasutus*, *Ursus ornatus*, *Ursus ornatus thomasi*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the spectacled bear?

The spectacled bear is a mammal in the bear family Ursidae, order Carnivora. It is a large, terrestrial bear.

### How heavy is a spectacled bear?

The representative adult body mass of the spectacled bear is 140 kg.

### What does the spectacled bear eat?

The spectacled bear is a frugivore, with a trophic level of herbivore.

### Is the spectacled bear endangered?

The spectacled bear is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.

### How long does a spectacled bear live?

The spectacled bear has a lifespan of 36.42 years, with values up to 39.26 years reported by sources.

### How many young does a spectacled bear have?

The spectacled bear has 1.5 young per litter, after a gestation period of 225.5 days.

### Who named the spectacled bear and when?

The spectacled bear, Tremarctos ornatus, was named by (F. G. Cuvier, 1825).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/spectacled-bear