Endangered Ark

Spectacled Bear

Tremarctos ornatus

4 of Spades

Art by Foxfeather Ženková

http://www.foxloft.com

foxfeather@foxloft.com

Minnesota

The spectacled, or Andean bear is the only ursine resident of South America. Its name comes from the distinctive light patches of color around its eyes and face. Every bear has unique markings, with great variation between individuals.

Spectacled bears occupy a wide range from lower elevations all the way up to tops of the Andes Mountains. Their roaming habits caused some Mesoamerican cultures to consider the bear to be a go-between for the earth and the heavens. To symbolize this connection, a ceremony is held where climbers dress like bears and scale the towering white cliffs of the Sinakra mountain. These ‘ukukus’ (bears in quechua) start at a small chapel on Mount Colquepunku, almost 15000 feet above sea level. They climb to retrieve blocks of ice from the glacial peak, which are considered holy. This ancient tradition is still practiced today in Peru as a part of the Qoyllur Rit’i festival during the winter solstice.

Though some also consider it to be a spirit of the forest or a symbol for strength and virility, not all South American cultures revere the bear. There is a more contemporary attitude that the bear is dangerous and needs to be exterminated. Some even believe it to be a quasi human entity; calling bears ‘the savage ones’.

Whether worshiped or reviled, the spectacled bear is in trouble. Its need for a large range has pushed it into the most remote and extreme ranges due to habitat destruction and human sprawl. It is also the victim of trophy hunting and a market for its organs, which are considered by some to have medicinal properties. This myth, originating in Asia, has had devastating effects on bear populations from around the world.