Spectacled bears are the only native South American bear species and face significant welfare and conservation challenges in both wild and captive settings.
Spectacled bear welfare in captivity reflects the challenges common to all wide-ranging, solitary carnivores: the enclosure cannot replicate the spatial and ecological complexity of the natural environment. These animals spend their wild lives navigating large territories, foraging across diverse habitat types, and avoiding conspecifics outside breeding seasons. Zoo enclosures that fail to provide adequate complexity, vertical dimension, foraging opportunity, and privacy from human visitors produce chronically stressed bears. In well-designed modern facilities with naturalistic enclosures, appropriate foraging enrichment, and carefully managed human exposure, spectacled bears can maintain reasonable welfare and contribute to conservation breeding programmes. The AZA studbook coordinates breeding decisions to maintain genetic diversity in the small captive population.