Bears of the Cloud Forest

The Spectacled Bear is the second smallest bear in the world and can be found in mountain habitats, rainforests, cloud forests or humid grasslands.

They usually live between 6,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level and sleep in trees, building nests out of dry twigs and leaves. Spectacled Bears are excellent climbers and spend most of their day up in trees searching for food.

Found in the Andes Mountains of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru these bears are herbivores - plant eaters and are diurnal, which means that they are active in the day and sleep at night. Some have unique markings around the eyes and they are the bears on which the famous Paddington Bear is based.

They have a short tail, heavy body and rounded ears, they also have plantigrade feet which mean that both heel and toe make contact with the ground –this causes them to walk like humans. Sadly due to loss of habitat there are now only 2,000 to 2,400 Spectacled Bears remaining in the wild.

This area of the Zoo is also home to our South American Tapir, Vicuna, Guanaco, Capybara and Rhea that share their grassland home. The Vicuna is the smallest of the South American camels and also the most threatened with extinction.