Spectacled bears are the only bear species native to South America, and their welfare in zoos requires attention to their omnivorous diet, solitary nature, and need for arboreal access and cognitive stimulation.
Spectacled bear welfare in zoo settings requires particular attention to their arboreal lifestyle and dietary complexity. Bears denied climbing access — through inadequate exhibit height or insufficient climbing structures — cannot express fundamental locomotor behaviour and show increased stereotypic behaviour and reduced activity diversity. Their dietary breadth in the wild — over 300 plant species — means that zoo diets must provide variety to stimulate foraging motivation; monotonous diets cause reduced feeding engagement and can lead to nutritional imbalance. Solitary housing requirements mean that aggression risk from inappropriate social pairing must be carefully managed, but that some social contact — through adjacent housing with olfactory and visual access without physical contact — may enrich the social environment. Best-practice facilities provide tall climbing structures, browse variety, puzzle feeders that require manipulation, and naturalistic substrate for digging and investigation.