logo
Andean Bear website home
Bear Facts, Andean Bear website
Conservation, Andean Bear website
Volunteering, Andean Bear website
Donate, Andean Bear website
News, Andean Bear website
Contact Us, Andean Bear website


Plush andean bear cub
Into the Wild logo


Bear Cubs

Andean bear cubs are often born in twos.  Little is known about the reproduction of Andean bears in the wild, but it is believed that the mother bears usually give birth around December or January to one or two cubs, occasionally as many as 4.  Andean or spectacled bear cubs have been seen with their mothers at up to around 13 or 14 months old. 
Newborn bear cubs measure about 18 cm and they weigh from 300 to 500g.  They open their eyes around 42 days of age, and within three months of birth are able to follow their mother.  In times of danger, or if they tire, they can ride on her back. Mature males occasionally accompany the family group, but this is unusual.  It is not known exactly how long Andean bear cubs stay with the mother in the wild, but we estimate this period to be around 14 months, having seen the same female with the same cubs after a 13-month period.
Although Andean bear cubs are very cute and look like teddy bears, especially when they are very small, they are not at all suitable as pets.  Their teeth and claws cause a lot more damage than a teddy bear would...  In fact it is illegal to keep a bear cub in Ecuador without special permission from the government.  If you really want a spectacled bear cub of your own, buy a toy one from Into-The-Wild.org and they will donate 10% to the Andean Bear Foundation!
All too often in Ecuador, the mother bears are shot (illegally) for raiding maize fields.  Their orphaned cubs are found and sometimes sold or kept as pets (again illegally) in unsuitable conditions.  The "cute baby bears" quickly grow too large to keep around the house.  They are agile climbers, intelligent and curious.  Their attempts to escape may result in damaged teeth or claws and cause their captors to chain them up or keep them in an even smaller space.    
In Ecuador, it is the Andean Bear Foundation that the Ministry of the Environment asks to rescue orphaned bear cubs.  Whilst we have the cooperation of the Ministry and the police in these rescues, we get no state funding.  We rely on your donations to finance cub rescues and the subsequent rehabilitation and liberation of the bears.  We are currently in the process of raising funds to rehabilitate and release Bubu, an orphaned Andean bear cub who is now nearly a year old.
***If you know of any orphaned bear cubs in Ecuador needing to be rescued, please contact us at info@andeanbear.org giving as much information as you can and including a phone number on which we can contact you.***  It is probably best not to say too much to the "owner" of the cubs as they may be moved or killed if the owner knows they are breaking the law by keeping them.  Their captors may believe that they are "saving" the "poor baby bears", but if the cubs need to be in captivity at all, they need to be legally kept somewhere with the knowledge and facilities to care for them properly.  Orphaned bear cubs should NOT just be released into the wild without proper rehabilitation - they are unlikely to survive alone until they are at least around 18 months old, and they need to learn what to eat.  
Orphaned bear cubs in countries other than Ecuador can be reported to the relevant Ministry of the Environment.
Andean Bear Conservation Project: Bear Cubs
Spectacled or Andean bear cubs, reporting orphaned bear cubs, bear cub rescue







Andean bear cubs playing
Spectacled bear cub
The rescue of an Andean bear cub
Andean bear cub in a zoo
Baby bear facts: not suitable as pets
Baby bear cub having its teeth checked.