Tremarctos ornatus
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), also known as the Andean bear, is a species of bear native to the Andes Mountains in northern and western South America. It is the only living species of bear native to South America, and the last remaining short-faced bear (subfamily Tremarctinae). Unlike other omnivorous bears, the diet of the spectacled bear is mostly herbivorous. The species is classified as vulnerable by the IUCN because of habitat loss.
Tremarctos ornatus is commonly referred to in English as the "spectacled bear", a reference to the light colouring on its chest, neck and face, which may resemble spectacles in some individuals, or the "Andean bear" for its distribution along the Andes. The root trem comes from a Greek word meaning "hole"; arctos is the Greek word for "bear". Tremarctos is a reference to an unusual hole on the animal's humerus. Ornatus, Latin for "decorated", is a reference to the markings that give the bear its common English name. T. ornatus is locally known as jukumari (Aymara and Quechua), ukumari or ukuku (Quechua); translating to "hole bear", the tan facial markings usually appear on the face except around the bear's eyes, making it... Wikipedia →
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Ecuador · 2025
© Marc Anderson · XC978271 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chingaza National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Podocarpus National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 3 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report an Andean Bear sighting in Chingaza National Natural Park on a given day, based on 59 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 5 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and November–December
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report an Andean Bear in Chingaza National Natural Park on a given day, against about 10% in September, the lowest month.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Andean Bear sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Andean Bear sightings, Chingaza National Natural Park has the highest daily chance: about 60%. Next come Podocarpus National Park (Ecuador, about 10%) and Manu National Park (Peru, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Andean Bear is recorded against all the mammals logged in Chingaza National Natural Park (59 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
