Andean bears, also known as spectacled bears, benefit from targeted enrichment programs that address their vegetarian foraging ecology and largely solitary nature.
Enrichment for Andean bears requires understanding that these are not carnivorous bears whose needs are met by meat-based puzzle feeders. Their foraging ecology is vegetarian and highly selective, spending hours processing bromeliads and extracting nutrients from plant materials. Enrichment programs that replicate this complexity, hiding foods in browse, presenting whole bromeliads, creating foraging challenges around plant material, are far more appropriate than programs designed for omnivorous or carnivorous bears. Cognitive enrichment through training and novelty addresses the intelligence of a species that navigates complex mountain ecosystems. Bears that receive diverse, unpredictable, species-appropriate enrichment show dramatically reduced stereotypy frequency and increased positive behavioral indicators.