The Black Bear

With a keen sense of smell and hearing, the black bear is at home in rugged country with dense thickets, swamps, bays, or rock outcrops. Found in the southern Appalachian Mountains and the coastal bays and swamps of North Carolina, bears prefer room to travel widely with little to no contact with human activity -- they will often bed down in dense thickets in the daytime, and do much of their moving at sunrise and sunset. Bears will occasionally cause damage to livestock operations, apple orchards and cornfields. As an omnivorous -- feeding on both plant and animals, their diet varies according to seasonal activities and food availability.
Bears require water daily, so most range in areas where water is easily available. Typically, the female will range from 6 to 19 square miles and the male will range from 18 to 160 square miles, in the Southeast. Their range is extensive -- most of Canada, south on the West Coast through northern California, in Rocky Mountain states to Mexico, north MN, WI, and MI; in New England, NY and PA through the Appalachians; in the Southeast, most of Florida and southern Louisiana, although you'll rarely spot them higher than 7,000 feet.
'Hibernation' is actually a very deep sleep -- but don't be fooled, the bear can awaken quickly! When there is plenty to eat, a bear may eat up to 45 lbs. a day and put on 5 lbs. per day, in preparation for winter. During hibernation, the bear may eat only once a week; if it's very cold, he won't eat for a month. Interestingly enough, he doesn't urinate or defecate during hibernation. Bear Country, USA, participates with researchers at the University of Illinois in a project to study how the bear recycles toxins during hibernation, with the hope of helping people with kidney disease and osteoporosis.

Breeding season in the American black bear is in late June to early July. Birth -- from 1-5 cubs --occurs in late January, with gestation being approximately 7 months. When the cubs are born, they weigh about nine ounces and are the size of a stick of butter! But from then on, they grow very quickly; by May they can be 12 to 20 pounds. An adult male can weigh as much as 650 pounds, but usually is about 450 to 500 pounds at full weight. The female will reach a maximum weight of almost 400 pounds. Bears seem to go through a 'puberty' stage, not reaching their full size, coat appearance or breeding age until they are about three years old. They can live to be about 25 years old.

The black bear is a very proficient climber, and will often sleep in the crotch of branches. Coloring can range from pure black to cinnamon to blonde. Black bears in the East are nearly black, while those in the West are black to cinnamon with a white blaze on their chest. The black bears in Alaska can have a blue or white color phase to blend with their snowy surroundings.

To learn more about the black bear, please visit Bear Country USA or Parks Canada.