Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2011 5:04:48 GMT -5
American Black Bear - Ursus americanus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus: Ursus
Species: Ursus americanus
Binomial name
Ursus americanus
Pallas, 1780
The American black bear (Ursus americanus), also known as the cinnamon bear, is the most common bear species native to North America.
The black bear lives throughout much of the continent, from northern Canada and Alaska south into Mexico, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This includes 39 of the 50 U.S. states and all Canadian provinces. Populations in east-central and the southern United States remain in the protected mountains and woodlands of parks and preserves, though bears will occasionally wander outside the parks' boundaries and have set up new territories, in some cases on the margins of urban environments in recent years as their populations increase. While there were probably once as many as two million black bears in North America long before European colonization, the population declined to a low of 200,000 result of their habitat destruction and unrestricted hunting culls. By current estimates, more than 600,000 are living today on the continent.
Physical description
The black bear is about 1.5 m (5 feet) long. Females weigh between 40 and 180 kg (90 and 400 pounds), while males weigh between 50 and 400 kg (110 and 880 pounds). Cubs usually weigh between 200 and 450 g (between seven ounces and one pound) at birth. The adult black bear has small eyes, rounded ears, a long snout, a large body, and a short tail. They have an excellent sense of smell. Though these bears indeed generally have shaggy black hair, the coat can vary in color depending on the subspecies: from white through chocolate brown, cinnamon brown, and blonde, found mostly west of the Mississippi River, to black in the east (the same is generally true in Canada with the border being between Manitoba and Ontario). Further adding to the confusion, black bears occasionally sport a slight white chest blaze on either side of the river.
While black bears are able to stand and walk on their hind legs, they usually stand or walk on all four legs. (When they do stand it usually is to get a better look at something.) The black bear's characteristic shuffle results from walking flat-footed, with the hind legs slightly longer than the front legs. Each paw has five strong claws used for tearing, digging, and climbing. One blow from a powerful front paw is enough to kill an adult elk.
Habitat and behavior
White American black bear, Rothschild Museum, TringBlack bears prefer forested and shrubby areas but use wet meadows, high tidelands, ridgetops, burned areas, riparian areas, and avalanche chutes. They also frequent swampy hardwood and conifer forests. After emerging from their winter dens in spring, they seek southerly slopes at lower elevations for forage and move to northerly and easterly slopes at higher elevations as summer progresses. Black bears use dense cover for hiding and thermal protection, as well as for bedding. They climb trees to escape danger and use forested areas as travel corridors. Black bears hibernate during winter and may build dens in tree cavities, under logs, rocks, in banks, caves, or culverts, and in shallow depressions.
Black bears reach breeding maturity at about 4 or 5 years of age, and breed every 2 to 3 years. Black bears breed in the spring, usually in May and June, but the embryos do not begin to develop until the mother dens in the fall to hibernate through the winter months (delayed implantation.) However, if food was scarce and the mother has not gained enough fat to sustain herself during hibernation as well as produce cubs, the embryos do not implant (develop).
Black bear cubs are generally born in January or February. They are blind when born, and twins are most common, though up to four cubs is not unheard of and first-time mothers typically have only a single cub. By spring thaw, when the bears start leaving their dens, the cubs are fur-balls of energy, inquisitive and playful. When their mother senses danger she grunts to the cubs to climb high up a tree. They are weaned between July and September of their first year, and stay with the mother through the first winter. They are usually independent by the second winter.
Cub survival is totally dependent on the skill of the mother in teaching her cubs what to eat, where and how to forage (find food), where to den, and when and where to seek shelter from heat or danger.
Black bears are omnivores. They eat a wide variety of foods, relying most heavily on grasses, herbs, fruits, and mast. They also feed on carrion and insects such as
carpenter ants (Campanotus spp.)
yellow jackets (Vespula spp.)
bees (Apidae)
termites (Isoptera).
Black bears sometimes kill and eat small rodents and ungulate fawns. Unlike the brown bear, black bears like to attack and eat dead creatures, which makes humans feigning death at bear attacks ineffective. Like many animals, black bears seldom attack unless cornered or threatened. They are less likely to attack man than grizzly bears and typically have long since run for cover before one catches sight of them. Black bear predation on man is extremely rare. It is estimated that there have been only 56 documented killings of humans by black bears in North America in the past 100 years
Black bears eat a great variety of vegetation and nuts as shown in the list below. The list reflects the different types of habitat in which the black bear is found, from prairie to swamps to both eastern and western types of forest.
American black bear cubsoak (Quercus spp.) mast
hazel (Corylus spp.) mast
mountain ash (Sorbus spp.)
tree cambium
dogwood (Cornus spp.)
manzanita
kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos spp.)
cranberry (Viburnum spp.)
blueberry and huckleberry (Vaccinium spp.)
blackberry and raspberry (Rubus spp.)
rose hips (Rosa spp.)
gooseberry (Ribes spp.)
sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis)
rhubarb (Polygonum alaskanum)
lupine (Lupinus spp.)
northern bedstraw (Galium boreale)
lousewort (Pedicularis spp.)
Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicus)
California coffeeberry (Rhamnus californicus)
squawroot (Conopholis americana)
dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
clover (Trifolium spp.)
thistle (Cirsium spp.)
Captive black bears at a zoo in Floridablack walnut (Juglans nigra)
buffaloberry (Shepherdia canadensis)
lomatium (Lomatium spp.)
cow parsnip (Heracleum lanatum)
pine nuts
chestnut and chinkapin mast (Castanea dentata, C. pumila)
wild grapes (Vitis riparia, V. labrusca)
wild strawberries (Fragaria virginiana, F. californica)
honey
hickory mast, including pecans (Carya spp.)
pawpaw, (Asimina triloba)
american persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)
wild cherries (Prunus spp.)
crabapples (Malus sylvestris)
beech mast ( f*gus grandifola, F. mexicana)
sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)
Black bears will also eat salmon (Oncorynchus spp., Salmo salar), suckers, alligator eggs, crayfish and trout and will raid orchards, beehives, and agricultural crops. They may frequent garbage dumps or may raid the trash bins of businesses or private homes. Black bears may occasionally prey on domestic sheep and pigs when their natural foods are scarce.
Black bear predators include other black bears, man, and the grizzly (Ursus arctos horriblis). Coyotes (Canis latrans) and mountain lions (Puma concolor) may prey on cubs.
History and controversy
Irish Guards, wearing bearskinsBecause their behavior has been little understood until recently, black bears have been feared and hated. Before the 20th century these bears were shot intermittently as vermin, food, and trophies being seen as either a vicious beast or an endless commodity; in many areas, bounties were paid, until recently, for black bears. The Queen of the United Kingdom Foot Guard's hat has been for centuries made of black bear fur, and its original name is bearskin.
Paradoxically, black bears have also been portrayed as harmless and cuddly. For example, the teddy bear owes its existence to a young black bear cub Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot. Today, black bears are as much an important game species as they are a point of debate across the continent, especially when it comes to the fact that many are finding life in the suburbs quite comfortable. Given their relatively low reproductive rate, black bear hunting must be carefully controlled and is probably inappropriate in areas where populations are feeble or where habitat is no longer intact.
Their tendencies to follow their stomachs and habitat encroachment by humans have created human-bear conflicts. This is true especially in areas where they may have been uncommon or absent for a long time, as in many parts of the eastern United States. An excellent example is the state of New Jersey. In New Jersey, bears were quite uncommon before the modern era as much land was cleared for homes and farming and also due to poor policies regarding hunting and forestry; by 1970 there were only roughly 100 bears remaining. However, due to changes in land usage, management, and population increases in neighboring Pennsylvania and New York, that number increased to nearly 1500 bears by 2003. The result is that the residents of this densely populous state sometimes awaken to find the garbage ripped to shreds or a birdfeeder knocked to the ground at best, and at worst a bear invading the home or attacking. (Invasion usually happens after a bear has lost its fear and has come to associate people with food and attacks occur when a human gets in the way of said food.) This is a cause for concern among civilians and scientists alike. Similar events have unfolded in other states and in Canada, and state, provincial and federal agencies are working to address the issue with trap and release programs, limited hunting, and hazing bears with rubber bullets, other aversion techniques, and dogs. In agricultural areas electric fences have been very effective.
Encountering a Black bear in the wild
If you encounter a black bear in the wild, give it plenty of room and try to avoid any contact by slowly backing away and leaving the area. If a black bear charges at you, it is most likely a "bluff charge" where the bear "stops short". Bluff charges are designed to frighten you off or to assert dominance; stand your ground and do your best to appear imposing. Huddle together if in a group, raise your hands or backpack in the air to appear larger, and make plenty of noise. Unless you have come between a sow and her cubs (or you are simply unlucky), you will probably succeed in scaring it away. Avoid eye contact with the bear but after it has engaged you seek eye contact to discourage the animal. A bear that rears up on its hind legs is not signalling aggression; a black bear's range of view is three feet off the ground whereas a human's is between five and six. It is trying to get a look at what you are and see if you are a threat. If you hear the bear making a popping sound with its jaw, it is warning you that it is uncomfortable. That is a sign to slowly back away (if possible) and leave the area. Headlong flight must be avoided at all cost because the bear will pursue as prey and bears can achieve sustained speeds of up to 30 miles per hour.
If the bear charges and doesn't "stop short" but makes actual physical contact with you, you must fight back. Use whatever you have close on hand to attempt to injure it so that it no longer finds you worth the fight. In particular, aim for the nose as it is a sensitive part of the bear or the face in general. The bear's thick skull makes blows to the top and side of the head nearly useless. It is not uncommon for black bears to disengage after being injured; pepper spray in the eyes has been known to work but one needs to be fairly close to the bear to hit the eyes with the spray. If fighting the bear does not seem like a wise choice, consider other options. If you play dead, grizzlies may leave you alone but black bears will begin to eat you or drag you away. You cannot outrun a black bear. Climbing a tree is futile since black bears excel at climbing trees. Retreat is usually the best option but your retreat must be slow and methodical, backing away from the bear.
American Black Bear
Kermode Bear
The Kermode bear is a genetically-unique subspecies of black bear found in the central coast of British Columbia. Kermodes are noted for the appearance in their gene pool of a recessive trait in that gives a small percentage of their population white or cream-coloured coats. The white bears are known as spirit bears and have a place in the native mythology of the area.
The Kermode subspecies ranges from Princess Royal Island to Prince Rupert Island on the coast, and inland toward Hazelton, British Columbia. It is named after Francis Kermode, a naturalist and museum curator. The habitat for the Kermode bear has been under threat from logging. As of February 2006, the government of British Columbia has brokered a land-use agreement with environmental and First Nations groups and with the logging industry to protect 18,000 square kilometres of land, including one of the largest intact temperate rainforests in the world; the home of the Kermode bear. The agreement will limit forestry in the area and help support eco-tourism. However, in September of 2006, logging began in the Green Watershed, a critical area of Spirit Bear habitat that was not protected under the land-use agreement.
The Spirit Bear in folklore
The Kermode bear plays a part in local First Nations lore and religion. Legend has it that long ago the area where the spirit bear lives was covered in ice and snow. Raven saw this and decided to make the land lush and green for the people. But as a reminder to the people of the misery they had once lived in, he made every tenth bear white like ice. This is perhaps a memory of the ice ages transmitted through folklore.
Today the Tsimshian people call white Kermode bears moskÓgm'ol, which simply means "white bear".
Provincial Symbol
In the February 2006 speech from the throne by the Government of British Columbia, the premier announced his government's intention to designate the Kermode or Spirit bear as British Columbia's official animal.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus: Ursus
Species: Ursus americanus
Binomial name
Ursus americanus
Pallas, 1780
The American black bear (Ursus americanus), also known as the cinnamon bear, is the most common bear species native to North America.
The black bear lives throughout much of the continent, from northern Canada and Alaska south into Mexico, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This includes 39 of the 50 U.S. states and all Canadian provinces. Populations in east-central and the southern United States remain in the protected mountains and woodlands of parks and preserves, though bears will occasionally wander outside the parks' boundaries and have set up new territories, in some cases on the margins of urban environments in recent years as their populations increase. While there were probably once as many as two million black bears in North America long before European colonization, the population declined to a low of 200,000 result of their habitat destruction and unrestricted hunting culls. By current estimates, more than 600,000 are living today on the continent.
Physical description
The black bear is about 1.5 m (5 feet) long. Females weigh between 40 and 180 kg (90 and 400 pounds), while males weigh between 50 and 400 kg (110 and 880 pounds). Cubs usually weigh between 200 and 450 g (between seven ounces and one pound) at birth. The adult black bear has small eyes, rounded ears, a long snout, a large body, and a short tail. They have an excellent sense of smell. Though these bears indeed generally have shaggy black hair, the coat can vary in color depending on the subspecies: from white through chocolate brown, cinnamon brown, and blonde, found mostly west of the Mississippi River, to black in the east (the same is generally true in Canada with the border being between Manitoba and Ontario). Further adding to the confusion, black bears occasionally sport a slight white chest blaze on either side of the river.
While black bears are able to stand and walk on their hind legs, they usually stand or walk on all four legs. (When they do stand it usually is to get a better look at something.) The black bear's characteristic shuffle results from walking flat-footed, with the hind legs slightly longer than the front legs. Each paw has five strong claws used for tearing, digging, and climbing. One blow from a powerful front paw is enough to kill an adult elk.
Habitat and behavior
White American black bear, Rothschild Museum, TringBlack bears prefer forested and shrubby areas but use wet meadows, high tidelands, ridgetops, burned areas, riparian areas, and avalanche chutes. They also frequent swampy hardwood and conifer forests. After emerging from their winter dens in spring, they seek southerly slopes at lower elevations for forage and move to northerly and easterly slopes at higher elevations as summer progresses. Black bears use dense cover for hiding and thermal protection, as well as for bedding. They climb trees to escape danger and use forested areas as travel corridors. Black bears hibernate during winter and may build dens in tree cavities, under logs, rocks, in banks, caves, or culverts, and in shallow depressions.
Black bears reach breeding maturity at about 4 or 5 years of age, and breed every 2 to 3 years. Black bears breed in the spring, usually in May and June, but the embryos do not begin to develop until the mother dens in the fall to hibernate through the winter months (delayed implantation.) However, if food was scarce and the mother has not gained enough fat to sustain herself during hibernation as well as produce cubs, the embryos do not implant (develop).
Black bear cubs are generally born in January or February. They are blind when born, and twins are most common, though up to four cubs is not unheard of and first-time mothers typically have only a single cub. By spring thaw, when the bears start leaving their dens, the cubs are fur-balls of energy, inquisitive and playful. When their mother senses danger she grunts to the cubs to climb high up a tree. They are weaned between July and September of their first year, and stay with the mother through the first winter. They are usually independent by the second winter.
Cub survival is totally dependent on the skill of the mother in teaching her cubs what to eat, where and how to forage (find food), where to den, and when and where to seek shelter from heat or danger.
Black bears are omnivores. They eat a wide variety of foods, relying most heavily on grasses, herbs, fruits, and mast. They also feed on carrion and insects such as
carpenter ants (Campanotus spp.)
yellow jackets (Vespula spp.)
bees (Apidae)
termites (Isoptera).
Black bears sometimes kill and eat small rodents and ungulate fawns. Unlike the brown bear, black bears like to attack and eat dead creatures, which makes humans feigning death at bear attacks ineffective. Like many animals, black bears seldom attack unless cornered or threatened. They are less likely to attack man than grizzly bears and typically have long since run for cover before one catches sight of them. Black bear predation on man is extremely rare. It is estimated that there have been only 56 documented killings of humans by black bears in North America in the past 100 years
Black bears eat a great variety of vegetation and nuts as shown in the list below. The list reflects the different types of habitat in which the black bear is found, from prairie to swamps to both eastern and western types of forest.
American black bear cubsoak (Quercus spp.) mast
hazel (Corylus spp.) mast
mountain ash (Sorbus spp.)
tree cambium
dogwood (Cornus spp.)
manzanita
kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos spp.)
cranberry (Viburnum spp.)
blueberry and huckleberry (Vaccinium spp.)
blackberry and raspberry (Rubus spp.)
rose hips (Rosa spp.)
gooseberry (Ribes spp.)
sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis)
rhubarb (Polygonum alaskanum)
lupine (Lupinus spp.)
northern bedstraw (Galium boreale)
lousewort (Pedicularis spp.)
Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicus)
California coffeeberry (Rhamnus californicus)
squawroot (Conopholis americana)
dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
clover (Trifolium spp.)
thistle (Cirsium spp.)
Captive black bears at a zoo in Floridablack walnut (Juglans nigra)
buffaloberry (Shepherdia canadensis)
lomatium (Lomatium spp.)
cow parsnip (Heracleum lanatum)
pine nuts
chestnut and chinkapin mast (Castanea dentata, C. pumila)
wild grapes (Vitis riparia, V. labrusca)
wild strawberries (Fragaria virginiana, F. californica)
honey
hickory mast, including pecans (Carya spp.)
pawpaw, (Asimina triloba)
american persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)
wild cherries (Prunus spp.)
crabapples (Malus sylvestris)
beech mast ( f*gus grandifola, F. mexicana)
sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)
Black bears will also eat salmon (Oncorynchus spp., Salmo salar), suckers, alligator eggs, crayfish and trout and will raid orchards, beehives, and agricultural crops. They may frequent garbage dumps or may raid the trash bins of businesses or private homes. Black bears may occasionally prey on domestic sheep and pigs when their natural foods are scarce.
Black bear predators include other black bears, man, and the grizzly (Ursus arctos horriblis). Coyotes (Canis latrans) and mountain lions (Puma concolor) may prey on cubs.
History and controversy
Irish Guards, wearing bearskinsBecause their behavior has been little understood until recently, black bears have been feared and hated. Before the 20th century these bears were shot intermittently as vermin, food, and trophies being seen as either a vicious beast or an endless commodity; in many areas, bounties were paid, until recently, for black bears. The Queen of the United Kingdom Foot Guard's hat has been for centuries made of black bear fur, and its original name is bearskin.
Paradoxically, black bears have also been portrayed as harmless and cuddly. For example, the teddy bear owes its existence to a young black bear cub Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot. Today, black bears are as much an important game species as they are a point of debate across the continent, especially when it comes to the fact that many are finding life in the suburbs quite comfortable. Given their relatively low reproductive rate, black bear hunting must be carefully controlled and is probably inappropriate in areas where populations are feeble or where habitat is no longer intact.
Their tendencies to follow their stomachs and habitat encroachment by humans have created human-bear conflicts. This is true especially in areas where they may have been uncommon or absent for a long time, as in many parts of the eastern United States. An excellent example is the state of New Jersey. In New Jersey, bears were quite uncommon before the modern era as much land was cleared for homes and farming and also due to poor policies regarding hunting and forestry; by 1970 there were only roughly 100 bears remaining. However, due to changes in land usage, management, and population increases in neighboring Pennsylvania and New York, that number increased to nearly 1500 bears by 2003. The result is that the residents of this densely populous state sometimes awaken to find the garbage ripped to shreds or a birdfeeder knocked to the ground at best, and at worst a bear invading the home or attacking. (Invasion usually happens after a bear has lost its fear and has come to associate people with food and attacks occur when a human gets in the way of said food.) This is a cause for concern among civilians and scientists alike. Similar events have unfolded in other states and in Canada, and state, provincial and federal agencies are working to address the issue with trap and release programs, limited hunting, and hazing bears with rubber bullets, other aversion techniques, and dogs. In agricultural areas electric fences have been very effective.
Encountering a Black bear in the wild
If you encounter a black bear in the wild, give it plenty of room and try to avoid any contact by slowly backing away and leaving the area. If a black bear charges at you, it is most likely a "bluff charge" where the bear "stops short". Bluff charges are designed to frighten you off or to assert dominance; stand your ground and do your best to appear imposing. Huddle together if in a group, raise your hands or backpack in the air to appear larger, and make plenty of noise. Unless you have come between a sow and her cubs (or you are simply unlucky), you will probably succeed in scaring it away. Avoid eye contact with the bear but after it has engaged you seek eye contact to discourage the animal. A bear that rears up on its hind legs is not signalling aggression; a black bear's range of view is three feet off the ground whereas a human's is between five and six. It is trying to get a look at what you are and see if you are a threat. If you hear the bear making a popping sound with its jaw, it is warning you that it is uncomfortable. That is a sign to slowly back away (if possible) and leave the area. Headlong flight must be avoided at all cost because the bear will pursue as prey and bears can achieve sustained speeds of up to 30 miles per hour.
If the bear charges and doesn't "stop short" but makes actual physical contact with you, you must fight back. Use whatever you have close on hand to attempt to injure it so that it no longer finds you worth the fight. In particular, aim for the nose as it is a sensitive part of the bear or the face in general. The bear's thick skull makes blows to the top and side of the head nearly useless. It is not uncommon for black bears to disengage after being injured; pepper spray in the eyes has been known to work but one needs to be fairly close to the bear to hit the eyes with the spray. If fighting the bear does not seem like a wise choice, consider other options. If you play dead, grizzlies may leave you alone but black bears will begin to eat you or drag you away. You cannot outrun a black bear. Climbing a tree is futile since black bears excel at climbing trees. Retreat is usually the best option but your retreat must be slow and methodical, backing away from the bear.
American Black Bear
Kermode Bear
The Kermode bear is a genetically-unique subspecies of black bear found in the central coast of British Columbia. Kermodes are noted for the appearance in their gene pool of a recessive trait in that gives a small percentage of their population white or cream-coloured coats. The white bears are known as spirit bears and have a place in the native mythology of the area.
The Kermode subspecies ranges from Princess Royal Island to Prince Rupert Island on the coast, and inland toward Hazelton, British Columbia. It is named after Francis Kermode, a naturalist and museum curator. The habitat for the Kermode bear has been under threat from logging. As of February 2006, the government of British Columbia has brokered a land-use agreement with environmental and First Nations groups and with the logging industry to protect 18,000 square kilometres of land, including one of the largest intact temperate rainforests in the world; the home of the Kermode bear. The agreement will limit forestry in the area and help support eco-tourism. However, in September of 2006, logging began in the Green Watershed, a critical area of Spirit Bear habitat that was not protected under the land-use agreement.
The Spirit Bear in folklore
The Kermode bear plays a part in local First Nations lore and religion. Legend has it that long ago the area where the spirit bear lives was covered in ice and snow. Raven saw this and decided to make the land lush and green for the people. But as a reminder to the people of the misery they had once lived in, he made every tenth bear white like ice. This is perhaps a memory of the ice ages transmitted through folklore.
Today the Tsimshian people call white Kermode bears moskÓgm'ol, which simply means "white bear".
Provincial Symbol
In the February 2006 speech from the throne by the Government of British Columbia, the premier announced his government's intention to designate the Kermode or Spirit bear as British Columbia's official animal.