American Black Bear

Ursus americanus

The black bear is the smallest and most common American bear. In the wild they are generally shy and wary of human contact. However, the strong, stout limbed animal can be very quick, agile, and dangerous. They are not aggressive but will protect their young and food if they feel either is endangered. Their keen senses of smell and hearing compensate for the poorer sense of eyesight. Black bears are called “shallow hibernators” or “semi-hibernators” because their body temperatures drop only a few degrees and body functions do not completely shut down. They can be roused or become active during the winter. If not enough body fat is stored, a bear may remain active during the winter to feed. Black bears are generally crepuscular, although breeding and feeding activities may alter this pattern seasonally. Where human food or garbage is available, individuals may become distinctly diurnal (on roadsides) or nocturnal (in campgrounds).

Family:

Ursidae (bears)

Description:

Black bears are large, stout animals. They are black in color, particularly in eastern North America. They usually have a pale muzzle which contrasts with their darker fur and may sometimes have a white chest spot. Western populations are usually lighter in color, being more often brown, cinnamon, or blonde. The face in profile is flat and always brown. They stand about 3 feet at the shoulder and 5 to 6 feet in length. They can weigh up to 500 pounds but usually range from 200 to 400 pounds. An individual may live for 30 years.

Habitat:

Throughout their range, prime black bear habitat is characterized by relatively inaccessible terrain, thick understory vegetation, and abundant sources of food in the form of shrub or tree-borne soft or hard mast. In the southwest, prime black bear habitat is restricted to vegetated, mountainous areas ranging from 3000 to 9800 feet in elevation. Habitats consist mostly of chaparral and pinyon-juniper woodland sites. Bears occasionally move out of the chaparral into more open sites and feed on prickly pear cactus.

Range:

Black bears can be found from northern Alaska east across Canada to Labrador and Newfoundland, and south through much of Alaska, virtually all of Canada, and most of the U.S. into central Mexico.

Diet:

True omnivores–they feed on berries, nuts, pine seeds, roots, fruit, underground fungi, fish, mice, ground squirrels and occasionally ground nesting birds and their eggs. Most of the diet consists of insects, especially ants and beetle larvae. May also eat carrion and garbage.

Breeding:

Bears mate in summer. They will give birth to one or two cubs in the winter den during January or February. Normally 2 cubs are born and they weigh 7-10 ounces. Cubs nurse and grow as the female remains in a lethargic state, relying on stored fat for milk production. Females generally breed only every other year.

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