WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO OBSERVE THE SPECTACLED BEAR? 

The Andean Bear is also known as the Spectacled Bear and is a bear species native to the Andean Mountain in South America. In Ecuador, the Spectacled Bear has been decreasing and this species is classified as Vulnerable and Threatened, due to their loss of habitat. 

Now, is it hard to observe the Spectacled Bear? In our Birding and Wildlife Tours we always aim to observe this mammal specie either in Papallacta Pass or near Antisana Andean Condor Hides. At both locations we have seen them in our tours and there is a 60 to 70% probability to observe them. 

This photo is taken by our client Chris Nenov during a Birding Tour in Papallacta Pass guided by Diego Cruz in late 2019. It was a unique moment since we get to observe the Spectacled Bear at close range, maybe 20 or 30 meters from us. The Bear looked at us firmly, he stood up couple of times, but continue feeding on the Achupallas, a native root, delicious for their diet. We had incredible shots that will certainly was a highlight for our day. In all our tours we aim to have at least 2 or 3 times to observe them in different days to maximize the probabilities. 

There was another time that we saw this specie hunting a White-tailed Deer, it was another unique moment. I was with Sue and Robert Clark from Canada, and it was right at the moment the Spectacled Bear jumped on the deer. He was dragging the deer all over to the top of the mountain, which was impressive and masive size of both species. I always thought the Bear was more Herbivorous, but it doest eat meat occasionally. 

If you want to observe this specie I recommend to book our Andes Tours with overnight at our Lodge Hacienda Jimenita.