Females measure from 130 to 190 centimeters (50 to 75 inches) and weigh 40 to 80 kilograms (90 to 175 pounds). An average male weighs 136 kg (300 lb). Some males have been known to weigh up to 500 to 600 pounds (227 to 272 kg). … Their claws are typically black or grayish-brown. [105], He wrote that American black bears were difficult to hunt by stalking, due to their habitat preferences, though they were easy to trap. Tobacco smoke would be wafted into the disembodied head's nostrils by the hunter that dealt the killing blow, who would compliment the animal for its courage. Some subspecies do not show as black. [42] American black bears have good eyesight and have been proven experimentally to be able to learn visual color discrimination tasks faster than chimpanzees and just as fast as domestic dogs. 2. Except for females with cubs, black bears spend most of their time alone. [106] Occasionally American black bears kill pets, especially domestic dogs, which are most prone to harass a bear. The typically small tail is 7.7–17.7 cm (3.0–7.0 in) long. Polar Bear Brown Bear; Average Weight of Mature Male: 900-1,500 pounds: 500-900 pounds: Heaviest Recorded: 2,210 pounds: 2,500+ pounds: Average Length of Mature Male Res. Black Bear Woman's children, in turn, killed Grizzly Bear Woman's children. Further north, they may not be seen until late March, April, or even early May. The American black bear's generalist behavior allowed it to exploit a wider variety of foods and has been given as a reason why, of these three genera, it alone survived climate and vegetative changes through the last Ice Age while the other, more specialized North American predators became extinct. A young adult female is often allowed to establish her territory within that of her mother, while sub adult males must disperse. The retention of waste during hibernation (specifically in minerals such as calcium) may play a role in the bear's resistance to atrophy.[84]. The skin of large prey is stripped back and turned inside out, with the skeleton usually left largely intact. There is a single record of a golden eagle snatching a yearling cub. Finally, mature males tend to come out earliest, followed by immature males and females, and lastly mothers with cubs. Black bears can also been seen at the Mendenhall Glacier bear viewing area in Juneau. [64] Of 1,028 incidents of aggressive acts toward humans, recorded from 1964 to 1976 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 107 resulted in injury and occurred mainly in tourist hot spots where people regularly fed the bears handouts. Bears have reasonable eyesight and hearing, and an exceptionally keen sense of smell (better than a dog). [124] Another exceptional attack occurred in August 1997 in Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park in Canada, when an emaciated American black bear attacked a mother and child, killing the mother and a man who intervened. [5][page needed] American black bears can do extensive damage in areas of the northwestern United States by stripping the bark from trees and feeding on the cambium. Litter size is between one and six cubs, typically two or three. 4 year 37 lbs. American black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. Babies are born blind. Mating takes place in June, July, and August, and pairs may remain together for only a few hours or for several days. "Using black bears to test ideal-free distribution models experimentally". American black bears are now considered highly efficient hibernators. [24] American black bears currently inhabit much of their original Canadian range, though they seldom occur in the southern farmlands of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba; they have been extirpated on Prince Edward Island since 1937. Exhausted from their journey, the bears rested on the shoreline and fell sound asleep. [67][page needed] Up to 85% of the American black bear's diet consists of vegetation,[42] though they tend to dig less than brown bears, eating far fewer roots, bulbs, corms and tubers than the latter species. The American black bear then split from the Asian black bear 4.08 mya. While the home ranges of individual bears are usually exclusive from those of other bears of the same sex, male ho me ranges are larger and may overlap those of several females. Heaviest Black Bear In 1976, a male American black bear was hunted in New Brunswick. They inhabit all elevations in the park. Ted, the male, weighed 431–453.5 kg (950–1,000 lb) in the fall of 2006. [5][page needed] Females tend to have slenderer and more pointed faces than males. Records. [12] The giant and lesser short-faced bears are thought to have been heavily carnivorous and the Florida spectacled bear more herbivorous,[13] while the American black bears remained arboreal omnivores, like their Asian ancestors. He killed 30 or 40 American black bears with only a knife, which he would use to stab the bears between the shoulder blades while they were distracted by his hounds. Black bears can remain dormant for up to 5 months in winter. Individual coat colors can range from white, blonde, cinnamon, light brown or dark chocolate brown to jet black, with many intermediate variations existing. [89] American black bears are also fond of honey[93] and will gnaw through trees if hives are too deeply set into the trunks for them to reach it with their paws. [52] In Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta adults reportedly averaged 125 to 128 kg (276 to 282 lb). Anything over that and we're talking humongous territory. In Alaska, only 14–17% of subadult males and 30–48% of subadult females were found in a study to survive to adulthood. [57][page needed] However, animal rights activism over the last decade has slowed the harvest of these animals; therefore the lard from American black bears has not been used in recent years for the purpose of cosmetics. American black bears often drag their prey to cover, preferring to feed in seclusion. Approximately 10% of the population of this subspecies have white or cream-colored coats due to a recessive gene and are called "Kermode bears" or "spirit bears". Northeastern Mexico and U.S. borderlands with Texas. [79], The bears enter their dens in October and November, although in the southernmost areas of their range (i.e. [39] In Minnesota, 99% of wintering adult bears were able to survive the hibernation cycle in one study. [49] Black bears in north-central Minnesota averaged 69.9 kg (154 lb) in 163 females and 124.95 kg (275 lb) in 77 males. Seasonally, tens of thousands of American black bears are hunted legally across North America, with many more being illegally poached or trapped. [citation needed], Game animals and shooting in North America, Lisette Waits, David Paetkau, and Curtis Strobeck, "Overview" from, McLellan, B. N. (2011). Pregnancy last s about 220 days, and the cubs are born in a maternity den in January and February. [72] Sows tend to be short-tempered with their mates after copulating. Across its range, the greatest skull length for the species has been reportedly measured from 23.5 to 35 cm (9.3 to 13.8 in). At birth, cubs weigh 225 to 330 grams (7 to 11 ounces). [24], There have been several sightings quite far away from where the American black bear is normally found, such as Union County, North Carolina[35][36] and western Nebraska. [117][page needed] In the mythology of the Haida, Tlingit and Tsimshian people of the Northwest Coast, mankind first learned to respect bears when a girl married the son of a black bear chieftain. [3][4][page needed] According to recent studies, the sun bear is also a relatively recent split from this lineage. How does a black bear finds food? Adult black bears typically weigh between 100 and 500 pounds. Record numbers of hunters. Weight and Age Relationship for Black Bears and Humans Human (Female) Human (Male) Age Weight Age Weight New born 7.16 lbs. Baby black bears are born and live in the safety of the mother's den during winter. DNA testing was unable to determine whether it was a large American black bear or a grizzly bear. The skulls of American black bears are broad, with narrow muzzles and large jaw hinges. Kermode bears are found along the north-central coast of British Columbia, and the Yukon Territory, Canada. Length: Five to six feet long. Black bears can run 35 miles per hour and can live for more than 25 years. Consequently, the most often that female black bears can mate, unless they lose their cubs prematurely, is every two years. It and the brown bear are the only two of the eight modern bear species not considered by the IUCN to be globally threatened with extinction. Fact #8 - Aside from body weight, black bears are judged by the size of their skull, with a Boone & Crockett minimum eligibility score of 21 inches and a Pope & Young score of 18 inches. Warning sounds include jaw-clicking and lip-popping. [30][31], Surveys taken from 35 states in the early 1990s indicate that American black bears are either stable or increasing, except in Idaho and New Mexico. Historically, American black bears were hunted by both Native Americans and European settlers. Smithsonian Institution—North American Mammals: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_black_bear&oldid=998478060, Articles with dead external links from June 2016, Articles with dead external links from October 2016, Articles with permanently dead external links, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from May 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2019, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from April 2014, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Able to live in varied climates: found in temperate rain forest in the north and, Haida Gwaii black bear or Queen Charlotte Islands black bear. [58] Even larger, the most massive American black bear recorded in Pennsylvania (one of six weighing over 363 kg (800 lb) shot in the last 15 years in the state) weighed in at 399 kg (880 lb) and was shot in November 2010 in Pike County. Cubs may be weaned at six to eight months, but they remain with their mothers for a year and a half. [24], The current range of American black bears in the United States is constant throughout most of the northeast and within the Appalachian Mountains almost continuously from Maine to northern Georgia, the northern Midwest, the Rocky Mountain region, the West Coast and Alaska. [6] This suggests that U. abstrusus may be the direct ancestor of the American black bear, which evolved in North America. Favored masts such as hazelnuts, oak acorns and whitebark pine nuts may be consumed by the hundreds each day by a single American black bear during the fall. One study found that both bear species visited 24% of cougar kills in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, usurping 10% of the carcasses. American black bears are highly dexterous, being capable of opening screw-top jars and manipulating door latches. Final report, Colorado Wildl. Has relatively long, narrow and flat skull and proportionately large molars. They regularly climb trees to feed, escape enemies and hibernate. For American black bears living in the American Southwest and Mexico, habitat usually consists of stands of chaparral and pinyon juniper woods. Public Approves of Bear Hunt", Wildlifeinformation.org: American Black Bear Conservation Action Plan. Hibernation in American black bears typically lasts 3–8 months, depending on regional climate. [64] When initially emerging from hibernation, they will seek to feed on carrion from winter-killed animals and newborn ungulates. 250 lber would be one of the bigger bear you would see out of a possible average 5-7 bear. This species is closer to the Grizzly bear but has subtle differences between them. [5][page needed][39], American black bears tend to be territorial and non-gregarious in nature. In aggressive interactions, American black bears produce deep-throated pulsing sounds. [44], There is at least one record of an American black bear killing a wolverine (Gulo gulo) in a dispute over food in Yellowstone National Park. The hunting methods and seasons vary greatly according to state, with some bear hunting seasons including fall only, spring and fall, or year-round. Evidence of a bear attack includes claw marks and is often found on the neck, back and shoulders of larger animals. [5][page needed] Their arboreal abilities tend to decline with age. [24], According to Dwight Schuh in his Bowhunter's Encyclopedia, American black bears are the third most popular quarry of bowhunters, behind deer and elk.[137]. American black bear meat had historically been held in high esteem among North America's indigenous people and colonists. [57][page needed] American black bears were the only bear species the Kutchin hunted for their meat, though this constituted only a small part of their diet. [5][page needed] Once out of hibernation, mother bears may be able to fight off most potential predators. The overall population of American black bears in the United States has been estimated to range between 339,000 and 465,000,[32] though this excludes populations from Alaska, Idaho, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming, whose population sizes are unknown. American Black Bear Conservation Action Plan", "Black Bear hit by car in Southern Indiana", "Early black bear sightings in southern Wisconsin", "Biologists excited after black bear caught on camera in northeast Iowa", "Video Shows Bear in Iowa, DNR Says it Could be State's First 'Resident' Bear Since the 1880s", "Another black bear sighting in Union Co.", "Recent occurrence of an American black bear in Nebraska", "Black Bears - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service)", 10.1644/1545-1410(2001)647<0001:UA>2.0.CO;2, "Learning and Color Discrimination in the American Black Bear", "Black bear monitoring in eastern interior Alaska", "Population, Genetic and Behavioral Studies of Black Bears, "Characteristics of Black Bears and Grizzly Bears in YNP", "American black bear videos, photos and facts –, "829-pound bear takes record in N.J. hunt", "Record-busting, 879-pound bear bagged in Poconos", "Observations on the breeding of captive black bears, Ursus americanus. A bear in pursuit of a pet dog can threaten both canid and human lives. [25] The total Canadian black bear population is between 396,000 and 476,000,[26] based on surveys taken in the mid-1990s in seven Canadian provinces, though this estimate excludes American black bear populations in New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan. SIZE Black bears are the largest land mammal in New Jersey. Polar bears are about twice as big as a black bear. Important nonforested areas here are wet meadows, riparian areas, avalanche chutes, roadsides, burns, sidehill parks and subalpine ridgetops. Unlike female brown bears, female American black bears are not as protective of their cubs and rarely attack humans in the vicinity of the cubs. [11] From the Holocene to the present, American black bears seem to have shrunk in size,[3] but this has been disputed because of problems with dating these fossil specimens. Black bears with white and pale-blue coats (known respectively as Kermode and glacier bears) also occur in small numbers. Black bears are one of the largest predators living in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but the majority of their diet is made up of plants. How much bigger is a polar bear than a black bear? The ears are small and rounded and are set well back on the head. [81], During their time in hibernation, an American black bear's heart rate drops from 40 to 50 beats per minute to 8 beats per minute and the metabolic rate can drop to a quarter of the bear's (nonhibernating) basal metabolic rate (BMR). Eighty-five percent of a Great Smoky Mountains black bear’s diet comes from berries and nuts. Some Native American tribes,[which?] The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the American black bear as a least-concern species, due to its widespread distribution and a large population estimated to be twice that of all other bear species combined. Females will weigh between 209-450 pounds (95-205kg). Despite this, American black bears in those areas seem to have expanded their range during the last decade, such as with recent sightings in Ohio[25] and southern Indiana,[27] though these probably do not yet represent stable breeding populations. Although most black bears are not much larger than humans, their weight can vary tremendously with the season of the year. Annual ranges held by mature male American black bears tend to be very large, though there is some variation. The hind legs are relatively longer than those of Asian black bears. [113] Wolf packs typically kill American black bears when the larger animals are in their hibernation cycle. [41] The average annual survival rate for adult American black bears is variable, ranging from 86% in Florida to 73% in Virginia and North Carolina. Livestock depredations occur mostly in spring. The average weight of an adult male black bear is 150 to 350 pounds (68 to 158 kg). Females tend to have slenderer and more pointed faces than males. [139][page needed], American black bear fat was once valued as a cosmetic article that promoted hair growth and gloss. [107][108], American black bears do occasionally compete with cougars over carcasses. The vestigial tail is usually 4.8 inches (120 mm) long. and Bray, O.E. Violent interactions, resulting in the deaths of American black bears, have been recorded in Yellowstone National Park. [57][page needed] The Kutchin typically hunted American black bears during their hibernation cycle. [5][page needed], With the exception of the rare confrontation with an adult brown bear or a gray wolf pack, adult American black bears are not usually subject to natural predation. [60] Honey, the female, weighed 219.6 kg (484 lb) in the fall of 2007. [89] Also extremely important in fall are berries such as huckleberries and buffalo berries. A guess-ta-met. Sightings of itinerant American black bears in the Driftless Area of southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa, and southwest Wisconsin are common. [39] The worst recorded attack occurred in May 1978, in which an American black bear killed three teenagers fishing in Algonquin Park in Canada. Black bears are omnivorous and feed on a wide range of foods, depending on what is available. [83], The hibernating American black bear does not display the same rate of muscle and bone atrophy relative to other nonhibernatory animals that are subject to long periods of inactivity due to ailment or old age. Insects (particularly ants), nuts, berries, acorns, grasses, roots, and other vegetation form the bulk of their diet in most areas. The most licenses sold in one year was 175,314 in 2015. But even a 600-pound bear isn't too uncommon. If the winter is mild enough, they may wake up and forage for food. [124][page needed] In almost every case where open garbage dumps that attracted American black bears were closed and handouts ceased, the number of aggressive encounters dropped. [109][110] Another study found that American black bears visited 48% of cougar kills in summer in Colorado and 77% of kills in California. This medium-sized bear is usually black with a brown muzzle, lacks a shoulder hump, and often has a white patch on the chest. Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan is named after a Native American legend, where a female bear and her cub swam across Lake Michigan. [102][103][104] They may even hunt prey up to the size of adult female moose, which are considerably larger than themselves, by ambushing them. The fertilized eggs undergo delayed development and do not implant in the female's womb until November. [127] It is not recommended to use unleashed dogs to deter bear attacks. Color: Black, dark or light brown (in Minnesota, less than 10% are brown). In the coastal areas of the Southeast (such as Florida, the Carolinas and Louisiana), bears inhabit a mixture of flatwoods, bays and swampy hardwood sites. Captive bears may exceed these weights. All provinces indicated stable populations of American black bears over the last decade. In the northeast part of the range (United States and Canada), prime habitat consists of a forest canopy of hardwoods such as beech, maple, birch and coniferous species. Male: 880 lbs (399 kgs), Craven Co., NC, 1998 or 902 lbs (410 kg) field-dressed, New Brunswick, 1972. [86] During hibernation American black bears retain all excretory waste, leading to the development of a hardened mass of fecal material in the colon known as a fecal plug. Once the hive is breached, the bears will scrape the honeycombs together with their paws and eat them, regardless of stings from the bees. "Implications of a high-energy and low-protein diet on the body composition, fitness, and competitive abilities of black (, Barnes, V.G. [120][page needed], Morris Michtom, the creator of the teddy bear, was inspired to make the toy when he came across a cartoon of Theodore Roosevelt refusing to shoot an American black bear cub tied to a tree. 4-years 35.2 lbs. American black bears living near human habitations tend to be more extensively nocturnal, while those living near brown bears tend to be more often diurnal. Has brown or reddish-brown fur, reminiscent of cinnamon. They usually kill by biting the neck and shoulders, though they may break the neck or back of the prey with blows with the paws. [50] In New York, the two sexes reportedly average 135 kg (298 lb) and 74 kg (163 lb), respectively. Adult males typically weigh between 57–250 kg (126–551 lb), while females weigh 33% less at 41–170 kg (90–375 lb). [38], Throughout their range, habitats preferred by American black bears have a few shared characteristics. Roosevelt described how, in the southern states, planters regularly hunted American black bears on horseback with hounds. Generally bigger than its mainland relatives, ranging in size from 90 to 270 kg (200 to 600 lb) and averaging 135 kg (298 lb). Your birth weight: An adult male black bear's average weight: 250 lbs. After these prehistoric ursids became extinct during the last glacial period 10,000 years ago, American black bears were probably the only bear present in much of North America until the migration of brown bears to the rest of the continent.[11]. In this region, bears occasionally move to more open areas to feed on prickly pear cactus. Surplus killing of sheep and goats are common. Black bears can also be efficient predators of deer fawns and moose calves. General description: A large black (or sometimes brown) mammal with a large head, small eyes, erect ears, stout legs, and a very short tail. Females are smaller, weighing 100-400 pounds, and measuring 4-5 feet in length. Adult male black bears range from about 130 to 190 centimeters (50 to 75 inches) in length and weigh 60 to 300 kilograms (130 to 660 pounds). Unlike brown bears, American black bears frequently lose against wolves in disputes over kills. [105] Unless well trained, horses were often useless in American black bear hunts, as they often bolted when the bears stood their ground. However, on occasions where they encounter Kodiak or grizzly bears, the larger two brown subspecies dominate them. This is believed to be due to a paucity of edible plant life in this sub-Arctic region and a local lack of competing large carnivores (including other bear species). [41] The fur is not as shaggy or coarse as that of brown bears. Many of the physiological changes an American black bear exhibits during hibernation are retained slightly post-hibernation. spawning salmon or garbage dumps), they may congregate and dominance hierarchies form, with the largest, most powerful males dominating the most fruitful feeding spots. On Long Island off the coast of Washington, ranges average 5 sq mi (13 km2), whereas on the Ungava Peninsula in Canada ranges can average up to 1,000 sq mi (2,600 km2), with some male bears traveling as far as 4,349 sq mi (11,260 km2) at times of food shortages. [64][page needed] Black coats tend to predominate in moist areas such as Maine, New York, Tennessee, Michigan and western Washington. They are born with fine, gray, down-like hair and their hind quarters are underdeveloped. American black bears in the southern Appalachian Mountains survive in predominantly oak-hickory and mixed mesophytic forests. Newborn cubs weigh about 8 to 12 ounces. 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