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American Black Bear
Genus: Ursus
Species: americanus
Description: Not all black bears are black – their fur can range in color from a cinnamon color to very dark brown or black. Typically, black bears found in the East have darker coloring than those in the West. The muzzle is usually lighter than the coat color, and some black bears have a white spot on the chest or throat. They have a short, inconspicuous tail and small, dark eyes.
Each fore and hind foot has five toes, and each toe has one long, non-retractable claw. These claws and each of the toes are evident in the black bear's tracks; the front feet leave a much shorter impression than the rear feet.
Other than color, how do black bears differ from grizzly bears?
- Black bears have longer, less heavily furred ears
- Grizzlies have larger shoulder humps
- Black bears have a convex (curving outward) profile, and grizzlies have a concave (curving inward) profile.
Size: Adults are approximately 3 feet tall at the shoulder, and their length from nose to tail can reach over 75 inches. Black bears are sexually dimorphic -- a term for when males and females of the same species differ in physical characteristics. In the black bear's case, the difference is their size. Males are larger than females, capable of weighing more than 600 lbs while females only weigh up to 175 lbs.
Diet: American black bears are omnivorous, meaning they will eat a variety of things, including both plants and meat. Their diet includes insects, larvae, roots, berries, young plants, and, occasionally, fish and small mammals.
Typical lifespan: Black bears can live to approximately 30 years in the wild.
Habitat: Because of their versatile diet, black bears can live in a variety of habitat types. They inhabit both coniferous and deciduous forests, which typically have plentiful understory vegetation to provide an ample food supply.
Other black bear habitat types include:
- Swamps
- Riparian zones (areas adjacent to streams)
- Wet and dry meadows
- Arid (dry) scrub
Range: The American black bear's range covers most of the North American continent. They are found in Alaska, much of Canada and the United States, and extend as far south as northern Mexico.
Life History and Reproduction: Black bears are typically solitary creatures except for family (a female with cubs) groups and during mating season, which peaks in June and July. The gestation period for black bears is roughly 220 days, but this includes the time of delayed implantation (when the fertilized egg lies dormant for while before attaching to the uterus and beginning development).
Females give birth to cubs every other year if food sources are plentiful enough to sustain the pregnancy. The cubs are born in the mother's winter den, and will remain with her until they are roughly a year old. A black bear litter can be up to five cubs, but the usual size is two or three.
Threats: Humans are the most serious threat to black bears: indirectly through habitat loss and directly through vehicle collisions and poaching.
Status: The American black bear is classified as a species of least concern. However, the Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus), one of 16 identified subspecies of the American black bear, is federally listed as threatened.
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