The American Black Bear

The American black bear, Ursus Americanus, is the most common bear species native to North America. These bears live throughout the continent with a range that stretches from Alaska all the way south into Mexico. They can also be found from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. This range includes 41 of the 50 United States, all of the Canadian provinces except Prince Edward Island, and some of Mexico.

The majority of bears found in the Southern United States remain in the protected mountains and woodlands of parks and nature preserves. Occasionally, bears will wander outside of a park's boundaries. In some cases, bears have set up new territories on the margins of urban environments. This has occurred more frequently as the bear's population increases.

Prior to European colonization, there were probably as many as 2 million black bears in North America. Unfortunately, the population declined to a low of 200,000 bears as a result of habitat destruction and unrestricted hunting. Current estimates place the population around 800,000. The black bear is a close relative of the Asiatic black bear. It is suspected that the bears may share a common European ancestor.

The American black bear is typically 5 to 6 feet long from nose to tail with a height of 2.5 to 3 feet at the shoulder. When the bear stands up, the bear can stand up to 7 feet tall. Male bears are typically one-third larger than female bears. Females typically weigh between 90 and 400 pounds while males weigh between 250 and 600 pounds. Adult black bears have been known to reach 660 pounds while exceptionally large males have been recorded at weights up to 800 pounds, a length of almost 8 feet. Cubs typically weigh between 7 ounces and a pound at birth.

Adult bears have small eyes, rounded ears, a long snout, a large body, and a short tail. Like all bears, black bears have an excellent sense of smell. While they typically have shaggy black hair (hence the name black bear), their fur can vary from white through chocolate-brown, cinnamon-brown, and blonde. Blonde black bears are found mostly west of the Mississippi River in the United States and in the Canadian provinces west of Ontario. Occasionally, a black bear will have a v-shaped white chest blaze.

While black bears can stand and walk on their hind legs, it is more normal for them to walk on all four legs. If a bear is standing, it is typically to get a better look at something or to figure out from where a scent is coming. The shuffling gait we all associate with bears is a result of their flat-footed walk. In addition, the hind legs are slightly longer than the forelegs. In addition to the flat-footed walk, bears also use a pacing gate. Unlike many other quadrupeds, the legs on one side of the bear's body move together instead of alternating.

For more information on bears and other animals, please visit http://www.atlantaveterinarianclinics.com.

Joseph Devine

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The Black Teddy Bear and Black Bears in the Wild

If you're looking to bring a black teddy bear into your home, you will have to decide which version you want. Some black teddy bear's look like a teddy while others look like a black bear. While the teddy design were originally based on wild bears, they don't all look them - they look, instead, like teddy bears. To tell the difference you need only look at the face and body of the plush bear; teddy's are generally made in a sitting position with arms and legs that don't have 'claws' and many of them have smiling, pleasant faces; black bears, on the other hand have defined pads on their paws, 'claws', and are made so they can flop over and/or stand on all fours, just like a wild bear does. Their faces are also designed much like a real bear which means they have a long snout.

Many references to bears can be found in both modern and ancient literature, legends, folk songs, cartoons, children's stories, and mythology. They are the first type of animal most children learn to recognize. When looking at bear folklore it can be confusing to a child given much of it is based on caricatures - teddy bears and Smoky the bear on one hand and magazine cover pictures of ferocious, real bears, on the other. Traditionally, bears have been portrayed as villains so as to support the notion of man against nature, and bears in general have not been distinguished from one species to the next - the black bear from the grizzly bear, for instance. The fact is, the two species are quite different.

Black bears can be found living in most forested areas of North America, which includes all Canadian provinces except Prince Edward Island (they were all wiped out in 1937), 40 of the United States, and many portions of northern Mexico. From nose to tail, black bears are 4 to 7 feet long and 2 to 3 feet in height at the shoulder. They have small eyes, rounded ears, a long snout, light grey skin, and a short tail. Depending on the season, their fur is shaggy or sleek. On average, black bears are smaller than grizzly bears with a smaller shoulder hump and a facial shape that is less curved. They have smaller claws than the grizzly, which they use for climbing trees. Their fur is also less shaggy than that of the grizzly. The black bear has ears which are longer and smoother than a grizzly bears and they have a furred instep at the rear which the grizzly does not. More than any other North American mammal, black bears come in a variety of colors; in eastern populations they are usually black but in western populations they are brown, cinnamon, black and sometimes blond.

If it's a true black teddy bear you're looking for, like with wild black bears and grizzlies, be sure to distinguish which it is you want [from the black plush bears] - you can in fact tell the difference between the two.

Copyright Shelley Vassall, 2010.

Black Teddy Bear

Black Teddy Bear

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Black Bear Chasing Kid Style

Black Bear Chase

Peddling as fast as my aching legs could move, I came to an abrupt stop. My shocked eyes followed the big black bear as it veered off the old brush road into the dark forest, just a few feet in front of me.

Camping With My Friends

It was early summer. A couple of friends of mine and myself had just finished a week end camping and fishing trip at one of our favorite lakes in the area, where we lived.

As I can remember it was a very long bike ride, even for three 14 year old boys.

Bear Country

The road we took to get there and back hadn't seen any traffic for a few years. It was a good bet we would run into something back there.

Sure enough I did, my buddies missed out on all the excitement, they had trailed behind and missed out.

Spring Bear Hunt

Since that time I've seen many a black bear in the Ontario Northland of Canada.

With the cancellation of the annual spring black bear hunt, I expect to see many more of these magnificent animals.

Black Bear Population

For the tourists, this is good and bad news, for the Northern Ontario resident, just bad. Ontario has a growing black bear population that is one of the largest in the world.

Bears In Politics

The spring black bear hunt was cancelled in 1999 in a pre-election move. The thought was that the government's decision would reduce the number of orphaned cubs.

The number of orphaned cubs in shelters rose.

Happy Tourists

Residents now have to put up with nuisance bears. Too many for their liking. The tourists have good news because they will get a better chance at seeing one.

Bad, because campers will need to keep a keen eye for nuisance bears. Now nuisance bear complaints are the norm.

Bear Control

Some municipalities have now hired bear-control officers, but many municipalities cannot afford this.

Without trained staff, municipalities must rely on law enforcement officers, with no background in bear management, to respond to nuisance bear complaints.

One day the Ontario government will come to their senses and bring back the spring Black Bear hunt again.

The Bear Facts

The black bear is also seen in other colour phases, chocolate and cinnamon brown are also common.

Black bears can reach weights of up to 700 lbs.

Black bears roam a very large area even as much as 500 square miles.

Black bears have been know to run as fast as a horse.

A bear can bite through a tree as big around as a person's arm.

Litter size may range from one to five cubs, but two is average.

Male black bears regularly kill and eat bear cubs in the spring; biologists say as many as 50% of bear cubs lose their lives this way each year.

Life span in the wild is 20 to 25 years. Mother black bears have not been known to attack in defence of its cubs.

A large number of fatal bear attacks in Ontario have occurred in areas not open to hunting.

As a tourist, I enjoy the site of seeing one of nature's rare sights. As a resident, black bears are seen, heard and feared all too often.

The black bears future depends on how well Ontario Northland residents understand manage and tolerate them.

Val and Robin Shortt are experienced campers and own three outdoor websites. For more tips like these and to register for their Free newsletter visit:Good Night Camping Equipment

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Hunting Black Bears Over Bait

If you haven't tried black bear hunting, these bulky black beasts will give you a thrill that's tough to compare to a typical whitetail hunt. There is just something about hunting a carnivore that gets your blood pumping. The great thing about a black bear is they are spread all over the United States and Canada, are a reasonable priced hunt, and normally are not an extremely physical hunt.

In my experience, a great way to start hunting for black bears is by finding an outfitter that hunts for bears over bait. Although you don't have the fulfillment of back breaking hikes and spotting and stalking the animal, hunting over bait presents challenges of it's own.

Normally the baiting begins before the season opens with sweets such as donuts, marshmallows, or any other sweet smelling tasty foods, supplemented with more fulfilling items such as dog food or meat scraps. Many outfitters will find an available supply of reasonable priced or soon to be discarded food and begin putting it out for the bears before hunters arrive. The bears grow accustomed to the food supply and often return year after year to the same area, sniffing around for the smell of sweets and a free meal.

The hunting is usually done from an elevated stand shadowed by the darkness of timber with an effort to keep it on the downwind side. In my opinion, the wind isn't a huge factor as long as the outfitter doesn't go to great lengths to remain scent free when he is refreshing the bait. The more human scent he leaves when refreshing the bait, the better in my opinion. Once the bears grow used to the scent, they are not as spooked when they do catch the smell of a human near the bait. Granted this doesn't work very well if you begin baiting several days before hunting, but if you give the bears some time, they will grow more accustomed to the human scent.

One of the biggest difficulties is sitting in a stand hour after hour and trying to remain quiet and with very little movement. Some people (often women more than men) have a knack for this skill, but personally this is a grueling workout for me. To complicate matters, many times the areas where black bears flourish are thick with mosquitoes during the late spring, as well. Even if you are covered from head to toe with mosquito proof netting, they find a spot to reach you ,or never let you rest with continual buzzing in your ear. For me, it's nearly impossible to remain still with these pestering bugs swarming the entire time. Black bears are extremely weary of odd sounds or movement, so this is a necessity. Occasionally you will hear a bear coming to stand, but many times, sight will be your first contact with a bear. Keep still and quiet and you will have a good chance at killing a bear. One option to slow down the mosquito swarm is a Thermacell. They are quiet, relatively scent free and do a fairly good job of keeping the mosquitoes at bay.

The second challenge is keeping your calm. When a bear comes into the bait it is very tempting to rush the shot. Bears are extremely difficult to judge, but if you spend a little time, you can often tell whether it's a male or female. Males are blockier with a square face and often a sagging belly. You don't want to shoot a sow with cubs and boars are normally larger, so take the time to judge the bear. A great reference for judging bears is watching some bear hunting videos before you go. I recommend Cave Bears on the Pacific Rim by Jim Shockey. There are numerous black bears taken on this video of all shapes and sizes. Another very important factor is placing the shot in the right place. I've found it's easy to shoot a bear too far back. Be patient and wait until the bear has his front leg angled forward toward the front of his body. Place the shot right as you would on a deer, just behind the shoulder. Don't take the shot if he is in an odd position or his leg is vertical with the ground. You may miss his vitals and have an injured bear on your hands. They will head for deep dark cover and it's no fun tracking an injured bear.

The main thing is to get out and have some fun. Black bears are exciting to hunt and hopefully you'll have a beautiful bear rug when you return.

The author, David Dukat is the owner of Hunting Videos Online at [http://www.huntingvideosonline.com] He has hunted around the country and been on some great western hunts, learning the hard way how to make the hunt as memorable as possible. Come see us at Hunting Videos Online. We pride ourselves on having the best hunting videos on the market. We have the best coyote hunting videos, deer hunting videos, elk hunting videos, african hunting videos and more. Jim Shockey, Craig Boddington, Mossback Outfitters, Tim Wells, and Marc Watts to name a few.

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Arkansas Black Bears Are Back

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission conducts Black Bear den surveys each year deep in the heart of Arkansas' Ouachita and Ozark National Forests looking for Black Bear Cubs. Biologists go deep into the woods for the purpose of collecting information and monitoring the Black Bear population in Arkansas. This work is vital to the AGFC's effort in monitoring the state's Black population in Arkansas. This work is vital to the AGFC's effort in monitoring the state's Black Bear population. Every winter, biologist's conduct den surveys on nearly 70 female bears, keeping very detailed records. On average tagged female bears are tracked for 10 years. AGFC takes great pride in their work with the bears, putting in countless hours doing whatever it takes to complete den surveys before the end of winter. Female bears generally begin searching for dens in early October and don't come out until mid-April.

Bears that have been tracked over the years were previously fitted with GPS tracking collars. Once the signal is picked up, the AGFC's biologists pin point the den location by looking for the make-shift mounds of dirt along the bluffs and hills. They listen for the soft humming noise coming from the den of a mother Black Bear and her cubs, a tell tale sign they are getting closer to their target. Black Bears have a unique sound and musky type odor all to their own. That humming sound one hears is that of healthy baby bears, nursing to their little heart's content. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission biologists will then slowly and carefully move in. An angry Black Bear is hard enough to deal with, but a mother bear with cubs; well you don't want to go there. You just never know what could happen; AGFC biologists have been charged by angry mother bears more than once. After tranquilizing the mother bear, biologists will take measurements of the cubs, logging all the details, including weight, body length, and even fur length. The AGFC doesn't track male bears; the information is gained by the recordkeeping of the female bears and their reproductive cycles.

Mr. Myron Means is the Arkansas Game and Fish Statewide Bear Program Coordinator. The Game and Fish Wildlife Biologist in the river valley area is Shell Shocked Outdoors' good friend, Ralph Meeker. In a conversation with Shell Shocked Outdoors last winter, Mr. Meeker informed us there were two very important parts to the management of Black Bears. You have to know what's being taken out of the Black Bear population and going back into that population to maintain a proper count on this magnificent animal. Harvest information lets the AGFC know what's going on in the world of Black Bears.

A thriving bear population is important across the country, and especially in "The Natural State." Not many know that Arkansas used to be known as the "The Bear State." In the mid 1800s, nearly 50,000 black bear roamed Arkansas. Over the years, bear fat became a hot commodity because it could be used for so many different things. Fuel for oil lamps, insect repellent, and hair gel; this led to unregulated uncontrolled hunting of the animal. In the late 1920s, the AGFC put an end to bear hunting, but despite their efforts, the number of black bears dropped to just 50 by the late 1940s. For that reason, in about 1960, AGFC officials began the process of re-introducing Black Bears into the Ozark and Ouachita National Forests once again. They went to Minnesota and Canada, brought back more than 250 black bears, and released them into Arkansas Mountains. With careful regulation, research, and field studies over the last forty nine years, the Black Bear population began to thrive. Almost 5,000 Black Bears currently live in Arkansas. According to the AGFC, the re-introduction of Black Bears to our state is one of the most successful large carnivore re-introductions projects in American wildlife history. The bear hunting ban was lifted in 1980 under careful regulation by AGFC. Arkansas' bear season lasts from mid-September to mid-December. Arkansas State Representative Steve Breedlove stated, "The AGFC Black Bear Project has been a marvelous success, well worth the citizen's tax dollars. Arkansas citizens are reaping the benefits of the dedication and hard work of the AGFC biologists." The further dedication and hard work of the AGFC biologists will ensure the enjoyment of this magnificent animal for years to come.

Jim "Duckie" Newcomb
Shell Shocked Outdoors
http://www.shellshockedoutdoors.com

Jim "Duckie" Newcomb, president of ShellShocked Outdoors, http://www.shellshockedoutdoors.com, he is an outdoorsman with 45 years of personal experience in hunting, fishing and the great outdoors. He is an accomplished and respected waterfowl hunter along with guiding upland bird hunting adventures. He has trained thousands of gun dogs throughout his career. He is the host of an outdoor radio show and a respected outdoors writer and editor. His company does a lot of product testing for manufacturers of outdoor products.

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