Spectacled bears are the only bear species native to South America, and deforestation across their Andean cloud forest range creates escalating welfare challenges through habitat loss and conflict.
Spectacled bear welfare is threatened by the progressive loss of cloud forest habitat that forces bears into agricultural areas where conflict with humans is inevitable. Bears raiding crops experience stress and danger, while farmers who kill them in retaliation face the loss of a protected species. Coexistence programs that provide beehive fences, electric deterrents, and compensation schemes reduce retaliatory killing by making coexistence economically viable for farmers. Protecting cloud forest connectivity across the Andes is the foundational intervention for long-term spectacled bear welfare.