Most southerly bear species

The most southerly range for a bear species is that of the spectacled bear, or Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus), which has been documented at a latitude of 23°S in the provinces of Salta and Jujuy in northern Argentina.

Spectacled bears are the only extant bear species living in South America and they favour the high-altitude montane forests of the Andes, at elevations of around 1,000–2,700 metres (3,280–8,858 feet) above sea level. Their range extends northwards from Argentina into Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela.</p>

The discovery of this bear's presence in Argentina was published in a collaborative study by the Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable (Uruguay) and Proyecto Juco (Argentina) in the journal Ursus in October 2014.