Since May 2016, Oberon (male) and Rina (female), the only spectacled bears in Kent, have called Port Lympne their home. They have the largest spectacled bear enclosure in Europe! We hope they will become a breeding pair and have high hopes for bear cubs in the near future!
Want To Know More
This is the only bear species to be found in South America. The children's book character Paddington Bear from deepest, darkest Peru is based on this species. In actual fact the spectacled or Andean bear has a massive home range across many countries including Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Argentina and Colombia.
It lives on mountain slopes and in cloud forest and, although a carnivore, it rarely eats meat, instead preferring to eat everything from orchids and epiphytes to all kinds of fruit and vegetables.
Spectacled bears get their name from the light coloured markings around their eyes sometimes forming the shape of spectacles. The species are dimorphic with the male weighing twice as much as a female, this can easily be seen when watching our resident pair Oberon and Rina playing.
Although half his size Rina is very much the boss! Oberon is much more relaxed although very destructive and is always breaking things.