South American Bears

The major difference between these bears is size.

South american bears. The brown bear while there are at least 8 species of bears in north america the american black bear and brown bear grizzly reign. While called the black bear the american bear varies in color. And stands 5 6 tall. The diminutive spectacled bear makes its home in the dense andean jungles of south america and it has the distinction of being the continent s only bear.

Small pockets of a few spectacled bears may also live in southern panama and northern argentina on the respective northern and southern limits of the andean mountain range. In the coastal areas of the southeast such as florida the carolinas and louisiana bears inhabit a mixture of flatwoods bays and swampy hardwood sites. In south america the first record corresponds to the ensenadan. Spectacled bears are the only ones found in south america where it is the largest carnivore and the second largest land mammal next to the tapir.

In the present day it corresponds to the only living tremarctine the andean bear but short faced bears became extinct during the early holocene. In the northeast part of the range united states and canada prime habitat consists of a forest canopy of. The spectacled bear also referred to as the andean bear or the andean short faced bear is the largest land mammal in south america. The biggest threat facing this bear species is the degradation of delicate habitats which makes the conservation of forests extremely important in.

American black bears in the southern appalachian mountains survive in predominantly oak hickory and mixed mesophytic forests. The black bear weighs between 200 600 lbs. The extinction of short faced bears in north and south america appears to have been approximately synchronous. Its range extends along the slopes of the andes mountains in venezuela columbia ecuador peru and bolivia.

South america s largest obligate carnivorous mammal is the jaguar panthera onca among south america s extant native land animals only the baird s tapir tapirus bairdii south american tapir t. 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. Coloring and eye markings spectacled bears. This is a rare and endangered species.