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© Sedgwick County Zoo, credit: Jennifer Nordyke

American Black Bear

Ursus americanus americanus

Physical Characteristics

  • These bears have many color phases including black, chocolate, cinnamon, pale blue and white. They have a brown muzzle and sometimes have white on the chest. The claws are strong and highly curved.
  • Size of average adult
    • length: 50 - 75 inches
    • weight: male = 130 - 310 pounds, female = 90 - 150 pounds

Diet

  • Wild: omnivores - nuts, berries, fruit, acorns, roots, grasses, insects, deer and moose fawns, carrion and spawning salmon

Behavior

  • Active morning, late evening and night
  • Solitary
  • Male territories overlap smaller ranges of several females
  • Reproduction
    • sexual maturity: 3 - 4 years
    • breeding season: pairs come together for a few days in June, July and August
    • gestation: 220 days
    • cubs born in mother's winter den, weaned at 8 months, but stay with mother for 1.5 years

Environmental/Global

  • Habitat: forested areas with thick understory cover up to 6500 feet elevation
  • Distribution: North America - 32 states of the United States and Canada
  • Status: CITES II
    • poaching for Asian medicinal market
    • habitat loss
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