Seasonal distribution and food habits of spectacled BearsTremarctos ornatusin the highlands of Ecuador

Abstract

The seasonal distribution and food habits of the Spectacled Bear, Tremarctos ornatus, were studied in the subalpine paramo of the Antisana volcano, in Ecuador. The location and age of bear signs indicated that bears occupy paramo areas seasonally up to a maximum of 4,000 m from February to July. Feeding evidence and scat analysis confirmed that bromeliads (Puya sp.) are important bear's food in the highlands. Because the importance of paramo and montane forest habitats to the spectacled bear, large, contiguous areas of these ecotypes need to be preserved.