Black bears are the most common and well-known bears native to North America. Even though they are named black bears, their colors can vary from black, blue-grey, cinnamon, brown, blue-black, and on infrequent occasions, a black bear can even be white. As full-grown adults, black bears can range from 200-600 pounds and be five to seven feet in length. An average lifespan of a wild black bear is about 20-25 years. They have long brown snouts, short tails, and small brown eyes, although their eyes are blue at birth.
How Many Subspecies of Black Bears Are There?
Although the black bear species is the smallest bear found on the North American continent, they are the most common and are found in northern Mexico, some parts of Canada, and 32 states in the United States. The subspecies of black bears are based on DNA and minor appearance differences. There are 16 different subspecies of black bears, the black bear subspecies include:
- Glacier Bears
- Dall Black Bears
- California Black Bears
- Eastern Black Bears
- New Mexico Black Bears
- Kermode Bear or Spirit Bears
- Haida Gwaii Black Bears
- Cinnamon Bears
- Newfoundland Black Bears
- Florida Black Bears
- Kenai Black Bears
- Olympic Black Bears
- Louisiana Black Bears
- Vancouver Island Black Bears
- Mexican Black Bears
- West Mexico Black Bears
What Type of Habitat Do Black Bears Live In?
Black bears occupied almost all of the forested areas in the North American continent. Today they are still found in different forested areas of the United States, Mexico, and Canada. There are many different things a black bear eats to make a habitat in various places. Usually, black bears prefer extremely forested areas with high amounts of vegetation.
The species is not known to be in open areas or on the Great Plains because there aren’t many trees or food to eat. They are only known to be in such areas when they are traveling along the course of a river. Black bears sleep in dens. These dens are usually under briar patches, under fallen trees, excavated mounds, caves, or hollowed trees. They do hibernate, depending on where they are geographically located. If they are located in more temperate areas, females and males without cubs may not hibernate during the winter months.
What Do Black Bears Eat?
Black bears are known to have a large variety of foods that they consume. When getting ready for the winter months, they can be found eating 12-20 hours out of the day to store enough fat on their bodies to last them through winter when they go into hibernation. During the summer and spring months, a black bear will usually eat around 5,000 calories a day, but they are known to try to consume at least 20,000 calories a day in the fall months leading up to winter. The species is known to be omnivores, meaning they eat both vegetables and meat. Foods that black bears are known to eat include:
- Fish
- Dead Animals
- Young Deer, Elk, or Moose
- Berries
- Grass
- Insects
- Honey
- Roots
- Garbage
- Reptiles
- Smaller Mammals such as Rabbits
- Rodents
- Fruits and Nuts
Black bears are not known to be predatory animals, between 75-95% of their diet is vegetables, fruits, and nuts.
What is the Behavior of a Black Bear?
Black Bears are known to be solitary animals, except during mating season, when they are nursing or raising their cubs, or in areas with a large abundance of food. They are most active before sunrise or after the sunsets. Most of their day consists of looking for food, eating, and napping. Female black bears tend to only range in about a 6-mile radius away from their dens. In contrast, males range a higher mile radius away from theirs and often overlap in multiple females territories.
At around three to four years old, a black bear is mature enough to mate. Females usually only get pregnant every other year. This depends on food sources because if the food is scarce, they may wait an additional year or two until they mate again. Like other bear species, the female black bears have delayed implantation, which means that the embryo(s) do not attach to their uterus until fall when they go to hibernate. Black bears have one to five cubs, and they tend to stay with their protective mother black bears until they are a year and a half to two years of age.
How Smart are Black Bears?
Black bears are smarter than most people would think. Not many scientific tests or experiments have been done on the black bear species, but the ones that have been done have shown that they may even distinguish numbers and perform some numerical tasks. The species is creative, intelligent, adaptive, resourceful, and even shows signs of planning things out. They also have great vision, allowing them to see in color and close-up objects. They have a fairly large brain, and more research needs to be done to discover if they have even more abilities.
What Makes Black Bears Unique?
Black bears are extremely unique creatures; aside from being smarter than we think and having the ability to live in virtually any habitat, they have other great things that make their species unique that include:
- They are extraordinary tree climbers, their claws do not retract as a cats would, but they have claws that allow them to scale trees. It is said that they can climb up to 100 feet up a tree in about 30 seconds.
- Their sense of smell is excellent. They can smell up to seven times better than a bloodhound.
- They don’t use the bathroom while in hibernation. Their kidneys absorb their urine, and their bodies are made to live off of their body fat.
- A black bear’s hearing is said to be twice as sensitive as a human’s, and their ears develop faster than the rest of their body.
- Even though they are a solitary species, there is an incredible bond between mother and cubs.
- Black bears are usually slow when searching for food and completing their daily activities, but they can actually run or sprint up to 30-35 miles per hour.
What Should You Do If You Encounter A Black Bear and How Do You Avoid Being Attacked?
Since black bears are in constant search of food, it is not uncommon to find them in your garbage, eating the birdseed out of your bird feeder, or going after your small livestock. Once a black bear finds a food source, they do not forget where to locate it again. They are normally shy and avoid humans, but they become quite attracted to human food and trash, and they lose the fear of humans each time they come back.
It is important for both your safety and the black bear’s safety not to feed them. If you encounter a black bear or any bear, you should use these strategies:
- Help the black bear realize that you are a human and are not a threat to them. Talk calmly and slowly wave your arms.
- Do not run or climb trees because black bears can both chase at a fast pace and climb trees. Instead, stand your ground and stay still. If possible, make yourself look bigger by slowly moving sideways to reach higher ground.
- When you are hiking or camping, travel in groups, groups of people are intimidating to bears, and they usually keep their distance. Pick up small children or pets immediately if you spot a black bear.
- Leave the area slowly and calmly as quickly as possible if you spot a black bear, but always leave the bear an escape route, so they do not feel cornered and threatened.
Black bear mothers are extremely protective of their cubs. If you spot a family group of bears, be extra cautious. Never get between a mother and her cubs, and even though cubs are cute, you should never try to approach the cubs because their mother is most likely nearby.
Does Bear Spray Work?
Bear spray is more potent than pepper spray but works about the same on a bear as pepper spray would a human. Studies and avid hikers claim that the bear spray works if it is used properly. They also say that the effects of the spray wears off in about an hour or two, and there are no lasting effects caused to the bear when the bear spray is used on them. Bear spray does not work by simply spraying your clothing and backpacks. It will need to be sprayed when a bear is within 20-30 feet of you. When carrying bear spray, you should first familiarize yourself with how it works and how it is used, and you need to keep it in a spot like your pocket so you can easily access it if a bear approaches you.
Do Black Bears Attack and Kill Humans?
Yes, but rarely. Over the last 20 years, there have been 25 Black Bear-caused deaths in North America. There are over 600,000 Black Bears, so by and large, they are not aggressive towards people. When a Black Bear attack happens, it is almost always carried out by a hungry male bear and is predatory in nature. The majority of these predatory attacks occur in the late summer when bears try to pack on calories to get them through the coming winter. Source A predatory bear may follow you for miles before rushing in to attack you, so be aware of your surroundings. Never act submissive to an aggressive Black bear and never play dead as you would with a defensive Grizzly Bear attack. This bear more than likely wants to eat you, so fight back!
What Should You Do If You’re Attacked By A Black Bear?
As stated, black bear attacks are sporadic, but there is a possibility that a black bear may attack you. You should always keep your distance from any bear and follow the strategies listed in this article, but you should not play dead in the event of a black bear attack. Instead of playing dead, you need to escape as soon as possible, do this by kicking and attacking the bear’s muzzle and face. Escape to a secure place such as a building or a car, use an object to impact a blow to the bear’s face if needed.
It is completely different if you are attacked by a grizzly bear or brown bear. In this case, you need to lay on your stomach and play dead. Fighting back with a brown bear or grizzly bear may make things worse and intensify their attacks.
Facts this article has stated about black bears include:
- Black bears live in forested areas where there are good food and water source.
- Black bears are omnivores, meaning they eat both vegetables and meats.
- Black bears are intelligent, creative, resourceful, and adaptive.
- Black bears have an excellent sense of smell that is even greater than a bloodhound’s.
- Black bear females get pregnant once every other year unless their food source is scarce.
- Black bears are known to be solitary animals unless mating, caring for their young, or in a large area where food is abundant.
- Do not approach black bears, especially mothers with cubs. Although black bear attacks are rare, they can happen.
In conclusion, black bears are interesting to watch, fun to study, and beautiful to look at and take pictures of, but you should take precautions when you are in any animal area.
Also see Camping in Bear Country, Black Bears
Sources:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/a/american-black-bear/
https://forum.americanexpedition.us/american-black-bear-facts
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/8/120829-black-bears-cognition-animals-science/
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/bears/safety.htm
https://time.com/5270214/does-pepper-spray-work-on-bears/
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