Black Bear

Black Bear, common name for a medium-sized bear of North America. The American black bear often has a white, star-shaped mark on its chest, and its color ranges from black to brown, cinnamon, beige, and even pure white. Its habitat ranges from the Tropics of Florida to the Arctic.

Female American black bears commonly weigh about 70 kg (about 155 lb); males usually weigh about 130 kg (about 285 lb), although some may weigh 250 kg (550 lb) or more. The cubs weigh only about 0.5 kg (about 1 lb) at birth. In the northern mountains, both males and females weigh less. The American black bear has plantigrade feet (heel and sole touching the ground) and five short, curved, sharp claws on each foot for climbing trees. It is generally solitary, except during the breeding season, or in family groups of mother and young. The American black bear lives in a wide range of habitats, including forest, scrub forests of the subarctic, and near jungle. It also ranges onto the open tundra and plains along streams. A unique behavioral and physiological adaptation allows American black bears to remain dormant without eating for as long as seven months when food is scarce. When active, they are omnivorous, feeding mostly on berries, acorns, succulent herbs, fish, carrion, and insects. When food is abundant, they may eat as much as 20 kg (45 lb) of food per day and gain up to 2.5 kg (5 lb) a day in preparation for winter.

Female American black bears often do not give birth to their first young until they are five or six years old, and they usually do not have more than two cubs every second or third year. They may bear young until they are about 25 years of age. Because most American black bears do not live beyond ten years of age, and because juvenile mortality is rather high, many females barely replace themselves in the population. The cubs purr when fed and cry when hungry or cold. Adults huff and growl, roar, and chomp their teeth as warnings to other bears or to people. American black bears do not prey on humans, but sometimes they hurt or kill people in conflicts over space or food or while protecting their young. In most areas, American black bear populations are stable. Black bears are the most abundant of the species of bears.

Scientific classification: The American black bear belongs to the family Ursidae in the order Carnivora. It is classified as Ursus americanus.

Contributed By:
Charles Joseph Jonkel