These cloud forests typically occupy a 500 to 1,000 m (1,600 to 3,300 ft) elevational band between 1,000 and 2,700 m (3,300 and 8,900 ft) depending on latitude. The best habitats for spectacled bears are humid to very humid montane forests. A single spectacled bear population on the border of Peru and Ecuador inhabited as great a range of habitat types as the world's brown bears ( Ursus arctos) now occupy. Before spectacled bear populations became fragmented during the last 500 years, the species had a reputation for being adaptable, as it is found in a wide variety of habitats and altitudes throughout its range, including cloud forests, high-altitude grasslands, dry forests and scrub deserts. The species is found almost entirely in the Andes Mountains. Its elongated geographical distribution is only 200–650 km wide but with a length of more than 4600 km. They can range in western Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, western Bolivia, and northwestern Argentina. Distribution and habitat ĭespite some rare spilling-over into eastern Panama, spectacled bears are mostly restricted to certain areas of northern and western South America. On the other hand, their hearing is moderate and their vision is short. They can perceive from the ground when a tree is loaded with ripe fruit. The spectacled bear's sense of smell is extremely sensitive. In some extinct species of the Tremarctinae subfamily, this facial structure has been thought to be an adaptation to a largely carnivorous diet, despite the modern spectacled bears' herbivorous dietary preferences. Compared to other living bears, this species has a more rounded face with a relatively short and broad snout. The tail is a mere 7 cm (2.8 in) in length, and the shoulder height is from 60 to 90 cm (23.5 to 35.5 in). A male in captivity that was considered obese weighed 222.5 kg (491 lb). On average males weigh about 115 kg (254 lb) and females average about 65 kg (143 lb), thus it rivals the polar bear for the most sexually dimorphic modern bear. Head-and-body length can range from 120 to 200 cm (47 to 78.5 in), though mature males do not measure less than 150 cm (59 in). Males can weigh from 100 to 200 kg (220 to 440 lb), and females can weigh from 35 to 82 kg (77 to 181 lb). Males are a third larger than females in dimensions and sometimes twice their weight.
The pattern and extent of pale markings are slightly different on each individual bear, and bears can be readily distinguished by this. The species typically has distinctive beige or ginger-coloured markings across its face and upper chest, though not all spectacled bears have "spectacle" markings. Overall, its fur is blackish in colour, though bears may vary from jet black to dark brown and to even a reddish hue. The spectacled bear is a mid-sized species of bear. Among South America's extant, native land animals, only the Baird's tapir ( Tapirus bairdii), South American tapir ( T. South America's largest obligate carnivorous mammal is the jaguar ( Panthera onca). The spectacled bear is the only bear native to South America and is the largest land carnivore on that part of the continent, although as little as 5% of its diet is composed of meat.
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