NAMES: Some black bear subspecies go by different names, like Kermode bear, Cinnamon bear, or Glacier bear, but they are all black bears.   We prefer calling male and female bears simply males and females, but many people call them boars and sows, like pigs.  Although pigs and black bears are both omnivores, they are not related.  A group of bears is sometimes called a sloth of bears after the Middle English slowthe, meaning slow.  The term is inaccurate because bears are not slow (see below), and few people use the term anymore.

RANGE: The American black bear is found only in North America.  The population is estimated at 750,000. They live in forests as far south as Florida and northern Mexico and as far north as forests grow in Alaska and Canada.  In northern Labrador, where grizzly bears no longer live, black bears range out onto open tundra where there are no trees to escape into.  People are becoming more tolerant of black bears as we learn more about them.  Many people are enjoying having bears live close to them where the bears were once feared and killed.

COLOR: Body fur usually black or brown but occasionally blonde, or rarely white as in the Kermode subspecies of coastal British Columbia.  Brown muzzle.  White chest patch is uncommon in most populations.  Eyes brown (blue at birth).  Skin light gray.

Most often, completely black bears are only seen east of the Mississippi. Most of the bears in the Sierra Nevadas are a Cinnamon or brown in color or black with white on the chest, paws or snout.  In all the time we have been observing and interacting with bears in this area, we have only three first hand reports of completely black, black bears to pass along.

ADULT WEIGHTS: Wild male black bears of breeding age usually weigh between 125 and 500 pounds, depending upon age, season, and food.  Very well fed bears can be heavier.  The record is 880 pounds in Craven County, North Carolina, and a close second from northeastern Minnesota weighed 876 pounds on September 5, 1994.  Wild females usually weigh between 90 and 300 pounds with the heaviest known female weighing 520 pounds in northeastern Minnesota on August 30, 1993.  Black bears in captivity may exceed these records.

Unfortunately, a black bear weighing over 900 pounds was killed in California in 2003. We say unfortunately not just because such a magnificent animal was killed, but also because it is very unnatural for black bears to become this heavy and it is largely attributable to their access to unnatural food sources, the number one culprit being human garbage. This is the number one problem the BEAR League faces when trying to prevent unwanted human-bear interaction and it is NEVER the bears fault.

ADULT LENGTH: 50 to 80 inches long, nose to tail, with males being larger than females.

MATING SEASON: Usually from late May to early July. In the eastern deciduous forest, mating season can extend into August.

BIRTH: January or early February.

NUMBER OF CUBS: The number of cubs in a litter is usually 2 in the western United States and 3 in the eastern United States.  First litters are often only 1 or 2.  Litters of 6 have been reported in several eastern states.

Access to high caloric food (garbage and other human food sources) during winter months is also increasing the birth count among bears in the Sierras.  We have seen litters of 4, and litters of 3 are so common today as to no longer be considered a novelty.

BIRTH WEIGHT:Cubs weigh 1/2 to 1 pound at birth.

Interestingly, cubs are born in winter dens weighing less then a pound with no fur, yet are able to survive completely off the warmth of their mothers. Remember, these are not marsupials.

FALL WEIGHT OF CUBS: By their first fall, cubs may weigh as little as 15 pounds or more than 165 pounds, depending on food supply.

PARENTAL CARE: Cubs usually stay with their mother for 17 months (rarely 29 months). One to six days before the mothers are ready to mate in late May or June, they force their yearlings to stop traveling with them.

AGE AT PRODUCTION OF FIRST CUBS:  2 to 11 years, depending upon food supply. Typically 3 to 7 years .

INTERVAL BETWEEN LITTERS: Typically 2 years, but it can be 3 or 4 years if food is so scarce that they have to abort their blastocysts, embryos, or fetuses.  If a litter is born but dies before the mating season, the mother will mate again and produce cubs in consecutive years.

Please note the continuing relationship between food and reproduction. The theme is constant and a large part of the reason we find rapidly growing populations around areas humans have infringed upon. It all stems back to three words, garbage, garbage, garbage.

SEX RATIO: Nearly 50:50 at birth.  Males are killed by people at a higher rate, though, so the sex ratio among mature bears is often one male per 2-5 females.

VISION: Bears see in color and have good vision close-up. Their distance vision (over two hundred yards) has not been tested.

HEARING: Exceeds human frequency ranges and probably twice the sensitivity.

SMELLING: Their smelling ability is extremely good. The limits are untested. Their nasal mucosa area is about 100 times larger than in humans.

INTELLIGENCE: Large brain compared to body size. One of the more intelligent mammals. Navigation ability superior to humans. Excellent long-term memory. Can generalize to the simple concept level.

SOUNDS: Usually silent (except in movies in which sounds are dubbed in). A variety of grunts in amiable situations. Loud blowing noises when frightened. Clack teeth when frightened. They use a resonant, humanlike “voice” to express a range of emotions from pleasure to fear. Does not threaten by growling (except in movies). In story-telling, any sound a bear makes is called a growl.

Please note the reference Dr. Rogers makes to movies here. It is a large part of what fuels the unwarranted fear of bears today.  Also note that most noise is made when frightened, which is what occurs during human contact, and is often misconstrued as aggressive behavior.

SWIMMING ABILITY: Good. Speed and distance limits are untested. Can swim at least a mile and a half in fresh water. One swam more than 9 miles in the Gulf of Mexico. Can swim to island campsites.

RUNNING SPEED: Lean bears can exceed 30 mph. Can run uphill, downhill, or on level ground. Fat bears in winter coats overheat and tire quickly.

DAILY ACTIVITY PERIOD: Most bears become active a half-hour before sunrise, take a nap or two during the day, and bed down for the night an hour or two after sunset. However, some bears are active at night to avoid people or bears.

Oh, if this were always the case. However, we quite often find black bears wandering through town in the middle of the day. It is true that they prefer to stay away from people, but when a new 16 to 18 month old is just finding his way in the world, you never know when or where he may turn up.

PREFERRED FOODS: Nuts, acorns, fruit, insects, succulent greens. Meat and less succulent greens are eaten when preferred foods are scarce. A scarcity of preferred foods can result in failed reproduction, stunted growth, failure to add optimal amounts of fat, and death of young bears, especially cubs.

Although black bears are classified as carnivores, typically 95% of their diet is vegetation, fruit, nuts and berries, so omnivore would be a more accurate classification and likely serve to belay many fears.

DO BEARS HIBERNATE? When hibernation was defined simply in terms of temperature reduction, bears were not considered hibernators. New knowledge of hibernation processes has led biologists to redefine mammalian hibernation as simply a specialized, seasonal reduction of metabolism concurrent with the environmental pressures of scarce food and low ambient temperatures. Black bears are now considered highly efficient hibernators. They sleep for months without eating, drinking, urinating, or defecating. Hibernators with lower body temperatures, such as chipmunks, woodchucks, and ground squirrels, cannot do this. These smaller mammals must awaken every few days, raise their temperatures to over 94 degrees, move around in their burrows, and urinate. Some of them must also eat and defecate during arousals. Black bears have far more insulative pelts and have lower surface to mass ratios than the smaller hibernators. As a result, bears' body heat is lost very slowly, enabling them to cut their metabolic rate in half and still make it through winter, maintaining temperatures above 88 degrees--within 12 degrees of their normal summer temperature. (Excerpted from "A Bear In Its Lair" by Lynn Rogers, Natural History Magazine, October 1981). Mothers wake up to give birth, typically in mid to late January, and take excellent care of the cubs in the den, licking them clean and responding to every cry for warmth and milk.

LENGTH OF HIBERNATION: The length and depth of hibernation is genetically programmed to match the regional norms of food availability. Hibernation is deeper and can last over 7 months in the northern portion of the black bear range where abundant, high quality food is available only from May through August. There, some bears hibernate so deeply, especially the leaner bears after a summer of unusually scarce food, that a person can jostle them for several minutes before they wake up. However, in southern states where food is available year-round, some do not hibernate at all, and those that do are easily aroused. Lean females cannot bring their fetuses to full term and do not give birth.

As humans continue to encroach on the natural habitat of the bears in the Sierras, and in turn bring their garbage and food; left out either intentionally to attract bears, or inadvertently in a soon to be convertible, or invaded cabin, the bears of the Sierras are finding it less necessary to hibernate.

POTENTIAL LONGEVITY(LIFE SPAN): Black bears can live 21-33 years or more if they are not killed.

CAUSES OF DEATH: Very few adult bears outside of national parks die of natural causes. Nearly all adult bears die from human-related causes. Most are eventually shot. A few are killed by vehicles. The average age of death in hunted populations is three to five years of age. Bears less than 17 months old sometimes die from starvation, predation, falls from trees, and other accidental causes. Very few die of disease.

CORE HOME RANGE DIAMETER: Typically: Yearlings: 1-2 miles. Adult females: 2-6 miles. Adult males: 8-15 miles. Excursions to 126 miles recorded.

Obviously, in light of these statistics, any bear that lives in the vicinity of humans is likely to get himself into trouble at some point; (Or, perhaps this would be better stated, any person who moves into bear country and does not take the proper precautions is bound to run into problems at some point) and that is when we get involved. Education is our specialty, and all to often it is the people who are the hardest to educate.

IDEAL HABITAT: Black bears like large forests with many different kinds of fruits and nuts. Small sunny openings within the forest provide many kinds of food for the bears. Lowlands and wetlands provide tender and juicy vegetation. Streams and woodland pools provide water for drinking and cooling. Mothers with cubs like large trees (over 20 inches in diameter) with furrowed bark (like white pines or hemlocks) for bedding sites. These trees are safest for small cubs to climb.

GREATEST MISCONCEPTION: One of the greatest misconceptions is that mother black bears are likely to defend their cubs against people. They usually do not. While grizzly bear mothers can be dangerous, no human deaths are known from black bear mothers defending cubs. Researchers often capture screaming black bear cubs in the presence of their mothers, and no attacks have been reported.