Tremarctos ornatus(Carnivora: Ursidae)

Abstract

Tremarctos ornatus (F.G. Cuvier, 1825) is a tremarctine bear commonly known as the Andean bear. It is a medium-sized bear with black to dark red-brown pelage with dense, long, coarse fur; creamy white marks occur on the chin, neck, and chest, and often white to creamy marks occur on the face, around the muzzle, and eyes. It is distributed in the tropical Andes of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, Bolivia, and northern Argentina in South America. T. ornatus is catalogued as “Vulnerable” (VU) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and is included in CITES Appendix I. Main threats include habitat loss and fragmentation, illegal killing, human–bear conflicts, and most likely climate change.

Understanding Species–Habitat Associations: A Case Study with the World’s Bears

“…The Andean bear is the next most vegetarian bear, with over 300 plant species identified in its diet [14]. Like the giant panda, it is in a separate subfamily (Tremarctinae).…”

“…Both brown bears and Andean bears inhabit grasslands at high elevations above treeline in their respective ranges; in the Andes, these habitats are referred to either as puna or páramo. In the Himalayas, brown bears have been recorded at >5000 m, and Andean bears recorded above 4000 m. Asiatic black bears match or exceed Andean bears in maximum elevation, but only due to a higher treeline [14,28,35]. However, Asiatic black bears make seasonal forays into treeless alpine areas [45].…”

“…Asiatic black bears, sun bears, sloth bears, and Andean bears all occupy tropical and subtropical forests. Andean bears regularly use montane humid forests, elfin, and cloud forests [14]. Asiatic black bears and sun bears co-occur in mixed deciduous and semi-evergreen forests across Southeast Asia, although there is evidence that in montane forests, with rich supplies of oaks, Asiatic black bears exclude sun bears [26].…”

Andean bear gastrointestinal parasites in Chingaza Massif, Colombia

“…The Andean bear ( Tremarctos ornatus ) is the only species of the Ursidae in South America and the only extant species of the short-faced bears (Tremarctinae; Velez-Liendo and García-Rangel 2017, Vela-Vargas et al 2021b). Its geographic range includes a variety of habitats and a wide altitudinal range in the tropical Andes in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and northern Argentina (Vela-Vargas et al 2011, García-Rangel 2012, Vela-Vargas et al 2021b). In Colombia, the Andean bear is distributed along the Andes in 23 of the 64 National Protected Areas (Vela-Vargas et al 2017).…”

“…Andean bears have been proposed as an umbrella species because of their range, altitudinal movements, and role in ecosystem processes (Peyton 1980, Kattan et al 2004, Crespo-Gascón and Guerrero-Casado 2019, Vela-Vargas et al 2021a). Tremarctos ornatus is classified as omnivorous, but mainly ingests meristematic tissues of Bromeliads (Bromeliaceae), palm trees (Arecaceae), and wild fruits (Ericaceae; Vela-Vargas et al 2021b). Also, opportunistic feeding of Andean bears on animal protein has been documented specifically for the consumption of cattle and their carcasses (García-Rangel 2012, Parra-Romero et al 2019, Rojas-VeraPinto et al 2022).…”