VULNERABLE
SPECTACLED BEAR
A bear , in Argentina ? A remnant of the past , the sole ‘ shortfaced ’ bear species remaining on Earth is the spectacled bear also known as the Andean bear or Andean short-faced bear , which reveals where it lives : the Andes . The only bear in South America , these mid-sized nocturnal mammals are named for their fur colouration , as light fur that resembles spectacles graces their faces , while the rest of their fur ranges from reddish to dark brown and jet-black . Mostly vegetarian ( only 5-7 % of their diet is meat ), the larger male spectacled bears weigh between 100 - 200 kilograms ( 220 - 440 pounds ), reaching between 120 and 200 centimetres ( 47 - 78.5 inches ) long , standing 60 - 90 centimetres ( 23.5 - 35.5 inches ) tall . Being rather adaptable , spectacled bears used to live across a range of habitats in South America , from high altitude cloud forests and grasslands to dry forests and scrub deserts , but they prefer humid and very humid ‘ montane forests ,’ also known as ‘ cloud forests .’ These forests are found in the Andes between 500 and 2,700 metres ( 1,600 - 8,900 ft ) elevation , depending on latitude , and home to the highest concentrations of food species for these bears . In Argentina , the spectacled bear lives in the northwestern Andes region .
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