Black bears

Black Bears

The black bears scientific name is Ursus americanus. It has two sub-species that include the Florida black bear and the Louisiana black bear. Black bears are very adaptable and live in 41 out of 50 states in the U.S but they can also live in Northern Mexico.

Black bears are very common bears. Did you know right now, there are 600,000 bears in north America but there are also 300,000 roaming the forests?. The average lifespan of a black bear is 20-30 years. In that time they can have up to 6 cubs. In one winter they can have up to 3 cubs. Black bears are usually pregnant for 63-70 days. Cubs are born when the mother bear is hibernating, they don’t eat anything until they come out for spring. People say black bears are born blind and that is why they stay in the cave longer.

The black bears behaviour is the same as every other bear. They hibernate for the whole of winter unless they are disturbed, they are excellent tree climbers and they tend to eat a lot of fish. The mother travels with her cubs until they are two, then she forces them to leave. Black bears can make 20 different sounds including grunts, roars, moans and other noises. They can grow 5ft to 6ft tall and can weigh 90 to 270 kg.

The Black bears appearance always looks slightly the same. Their fur colour can be either blue-black, blue-grey, cinnamon, and sometimes very rarely you can find a white, Black bear. They are mainly dark colours so the Black bear can hide from its predators. They don’t have many predators because they are so big, but really they are the smallest out of all 3 species of bear, that’s why their main predator are other bears. Another interesting fact is that Theodore Roosevelt was one of the first people to eat the Black bears raw meat.

Black bears are omnivores which means they can eat meat and vegetation. They would usually prefer berries, roots, grass, insects, honey, fish, carrion, deer, moose calves, garbage,and human food. Most bears that have eaten human food or garbage end up becoming extremely dangerous and are hunted down and killed. Did you know, when a bear hibernates they don’t eat food but they are eating their own body fat and to get enough body fat for the whole of winter means they eat twice as much in Summer and Autumn.

Black bears live in forests, mountains, swamps, and tree holes. They hibernate in different places including brush piles, sheltered spots, caves and burrows. They are usually traveling so they sleep in different places every night. Black bears are very interesting creatures and have lots of funny habits.