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Queens Zoo News
Queens Zoo Welcomes New Spectacled Bear
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Spangles, the Queens Zoo’s new spectacled bear
 ©WCS/photo by S.Bolduc; video by L.Groskin
| Welcome, Spangles! The Queens Zoo’s new spectacled bear is busy pawing, sniffing, and digging around in her new home. She’s discovered the perfect tree for climbing (which also makes a good scratching post), a store of raisins in a baby pool, and the fun of playing with boomer balls. When taking a break from all the activity, Spangles curls up in her cozy tree hammock—a replica of the tree nests wild spectacled bears build in the Andes Mountains for feeding and resting.
Spectacled bears get their name as a result of the light brown patch of fur around their eyes. They are the only bears that live in South America. With as few as 2,400 remaining in the wild, spectacled bears are one of the most endangered bear species in the world. They are vulnerable because of habitat loss and killing for their fur and meat.
Sixteen years old and 151 pounds, Spangles hails from the Houston Zoo. She joins resident male Cisco, whom she has seen and smelled, but not yet met. The bears are part of a Species Survival Plan—a cooperative breeding program that helps to maintain healthy populations of the animals in zoos throughout the U.S. Zookeepers hope that in time, Spangles and Cisco will be a match made in Queens.
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