The only ursid native to South America, the spectacled bear ( Tremarctos ornatus ) still occurs in parts of the Urubamba Valley and its tributaries where human impact has been low. Small size (90-150 kg), distinctive facial markings, and a strong tree-climbing habit set this species, called ucumari in Quechua, apart from bears elsewhere in the world. Never abundant, the bear's chief habitat has been in the upper montane zone from Western Venezuela to Southern Bolivia. Although its present geographic spread approximates the past, its distribution has contracted into non-contiguous "island" zones. Human associations with the spectacled bear give it a minor role in folk medicine and peasant nourishment, but a striking place in Andean folklore. Certain anthropic resemblances between man and beast reinforced a belief that male bears sexually paired with women. Far from being an indigenous notion, evidence indicates that Spaniards transferred this to the Andes from a similar folklore involving the European bear species. Shy and elusive, the ucumari is better known from inferential evidence of it, such as claw marks, than from encounters with the animal itself. To reverse its declining numbers, hunting and habitat must be addressed. When spectacled bears eat crops (especially maize) or attack livestock, peasants target them. Recently, agents have begun buying bear parts that are valued in Asian medicine. The future of this bear, a wild animal of the Andes, also depends upon maintaining the pristine character of the upper montane forest where human impact has been low, but is now increasing.