Product Description
One of a kind: Appreciate this amazing SPECTACLED BEAR (ANDEAN BEAR) miniature exclusively made for our friends who appreciate the unique wildlife of the ANDES. Use him in a science project or diorama.
Our Resin Andean (Spectacled) Bear Replica This hard resin Andean (spectacled) bear toy is well-made and quite realistic in its black-brown color and the painted detail around the bear's eyes. It was designed and sculpted by a talented Colombian biologist colleague, Sergio Sandoval, painted by hand, and specially imported by us as a way to further the understanding of the sensitive environment where the Andean bear lives. Two inches long and one inch tall, this unique Andean (spectacled) bear replica will fit nicely into a diorama depicting an Andean cloud forest, a diorama of South American animals, or a display of endangered species. Our Andean bear may be useful for a school project or as a collector's item. Our Andean bear is lying down and appears to be sniffing the air. He is used to living in an isolated tundra-like environment at incredibly high altitudes. Check out our other black bears and bear toys and gifts. About Andean Spectacled Bears (Tremarctos ornatus) Andean or Spectacled Bear Photo Source: Bigstock.com Camouflaged by his facial markings, the small spectacled bear probably has the best seat in the house. Far below, the mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) cools off in a stream. Does our bear see the puma (Puma concolor) or the wooly mountain tapir from his platform high in the tree? These mammals share their sensitive cloud forest habitat in the extreme climates and high altitudes of the Andean mountains. High Andean Paramo Habitat Photo by Lee Spangler Through geographic space and geological time, this bear's Asian ancestors are traced in the fossil record. This elusive, short-faced species is the only remaining bear in South America. Fossil records reveal that his ancestors journeyed millions of years across the Bering land bridge into what is now Alaska. His ancestors adapted to extreme cold climates, and since the last ice age this bear is mainly concentrated in the high altitudes of the Andes. An interesting debate suggests the bears' actual migratory pathway could have been shorter, over land masses which once fit together like a puzzle. Anatomically and genetically the spectacled bear is similar to the giant panda, with a "false thumb" or radial sesamoid, unlike other bears. His thumb suggests he has a common ancestor with the giant panda. This resourceful bear uses his front paws to grasp branches and twigs to build platforms in the trees where he can hide and store his food high in the trees of the cloud forest. His fur is usually black or dark reddish-brown. He has a broad face which sits upon a short muscular neck and his cranial markings are tinted cream to white. These may form a ring around his eyes like spectacles, but each bear is uniquely marked. Spectacled bears measure 4-6 feet in length and weigh 220-440 pounds. Our bear spends most of his time in trees and usually sleeps at night and is awake during the day. Like most bears he has a sweet tooth, and enjoys berries and sweet flowering plants like bromeliads, although his massive mandibular muscles allow him to bite through bone or tear the tough, fibrous barks of trees or palms. He is considered an omnivore, and hunts rabbits and other small mammals. He may occasionally prey on a tapir that is too sick or old to defend itself, and perhaps rarely finds a tapir calf unprotected. The tapir is not a guaranteed meal for the bear. Andean Bears are Good Climbers Photo by Sergio Sandoval High in the tree, the bear hears the high pitched whistle of the mountain tapir but he cannot easily find him through the thick foliage. Larger than the bear, the nimble tapir has an astonishing ability to quickly forage and tear his way through the thick paramo, although he is known to use well-worn paths. The tapir can avoid bears and hungry pumas by running quickly even on this steep terrain, and he finally finds a place to hide for a moment in a mountain stream, effectively concealing himself. After he sniffs the air with his prehensile snout he glides through the mud to find a good place for a nap. Both the bear and the tapir are vulnerable to the stealthy puma but the bear's muscular jaw makes him a quite formidable adversary. To help prevent extinction, researcher Armando Castellanos rehabilitates confiscated spectacled bears and releases them back into the wild. He also