Black Bear

The black bear is a medium-sized bear that lives in the forests of North America. It is the most common bear on the continent. About 600,000 black bears live in the wild today, more than all other bear species on Earth combined. They are found in Canada, the United States, and parts of northern Mexico.

An adult male black bear usually weighs between 150 and 400 pounds. Females are smaller. The biggest black bear ever recorded weighed more than 900 pounds, about the weight of a small horse. Black bears stand about three feet tall at the shoulder on all fours. When they stand up on their back legs, they can reach six or seven feet.

Despite the name, not all black bears are black. Their fur can be brown, cinnamon, blonde, or even bluish gray. A rare group called the Kermode bear, found only on a few islands in Canada, is pure white. These white bears are not albino. They get their color from a special gene shared by both parents.

Black bears are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and animals. Most of their diet is actually plants. They eat berries, nuts, grasses, roots, and fruit. They also eat insects, fish, small animals, and honey. Black bears have a famous sweet tooth and will tear open logs to reach beehives. Their thick fur protects them from most stings.

In winter, black bears hibernate. They find a den in a hollow tree, cave, or hole in the ground and sleep for three to seven months. During hibernation, their heart slows from about 50 beats per minute to as few as eight. They do not eat, drink, or go to the bathroom the whole time. Mother bears even give birth during hibernation. Newborn cubs are tiny, smaller than a can of soda, and they stay with their mother for about a year and a half.

Black bears are excellent climbers. Cubs will run up a tree to escape danger, and adults climb to reach fruit or honey. They can also swim well and run up to 30 miles per hour over short distances.

People sometimes confuse black bears with grizzly bears, but the two are different. Grizzlies are bigger, have a hump on their shoulders, and are more likely to defend themselves if surprised. Black bears usually avoid people. When a black bear sees a human, it almost always runs the other way. Still, park rangers tell visitors to store food in bear-proof containers, because a bear that learns to find food at a campsite will come back again and again.