National Park Service Featured Creature U.S. Department of the Interior July 2021 Klamath Network Inventory & Monitoring Division Natural Resource Stewardship & Science American Black Bear Ursus americanus

Visitors, rangers, and bears, oh my! You on their sense of smell for finding food; it is can be sure to find park rangers and visitors thought that they can smell a food source on any trip to a national park, but did you from over two miles away. Most of their diet know that in many of this region’s parks, consists of berries, fruit, sedges, and insects. NPS/ERIC JOHNSTON you may also encounter black bears (Ursus They will also occasionally consume fish, What’s in a Name - This black bear standing on a log actually has cinnamon-colored fur! americanus)? honeycomb, and human food and garbage, so it is important to make sure to keep your a bear’s body temperature decreases and General Description items locked up with bear-proof equipment! metabolism slows, but to a lesser extent than Unlike its name suggests, a black bear’s fur In the spring, black bears may prey on young a true hibernating individual. In torpor, bears ranges from grey to blue-grey, black, cin- elk and deer. They even occasionally hijack do not need to wake to eat, drink, urinate, or namon and even white! Adults are between carcasses of these animals that were killed by defecate, although this state does allow bears 1.5 and 1.8 m (5–6 ft) long and can weigh another predator such as a mountain lion. to wake up more suddenly if a sense of danger between 90 and 272 kg (200–600 lbs). While is present. this may sound large, black bears are the Predators smallest North American bear. The black Black bears may become prey to mountain Reproduction bear’s flat back distinguishes it from a grizzly lions (Puma concolor), wolves (Canis lupus) Black bears mate in summer every two to bear (Ursus arctos), which has quite a pro- coyotes (Canis latrans), bobcats (Lynx rufus), three years. Females give birth while in their nounced hump on its shoulders. Black bears grizzly bears, humans, or other black bears. dens to anywhere between one and six cubs also have small heads with straight-line pro- Cubs are especially vulnerable to predation by in mid-winter (two or three are most com- files, rounded ears, non-retractable claws on these other animals. mon!). Cubs, initially born blind and without their paws, and an incredible sense of smell. teeth, will nurse until the emergence of green They are thought to have the keenest noses in Behavior vegetation in spring. Young bears stay and the animal kingdom, but their sense of smell Black bears are largely solitary creatures, grow alongside their mother for about two is so good that it is difficult to measure! Black except when breeding. They build dens years before becoming independent, and they bears are the only species of bear currently in beneath fallen trees, hollowed logs, and other reach maturity within three to four years of southern Oregon and northern California. protective shelters. They are diurnal (active age. After reaching adulthood, black bears during the day) in natural habitats, although can live up to 30 years old! Range and Preferred Habitat they may become more active at night in Black bears are common throughout the areas with lots of human activity to avoid Fun Facts Pacific Northwest’s forests and mountains. encounters with us. Still, be sure to keep your • The most common color for a black bear is They are also found in forests throughout eyes peeled! During the fall, these bears will actually brown Canada, Alaska, the Rocky Mountains, the build up a thick layer of fat to sustain them • Black bears are the smallest bear found in upper Midwest, parts of the southern U.S., through their winter sleep; however, they North America the Appalachian Mountains, and down do not truly hibernate! Instead, black bears • Black bears do not truly hibernate! into Mexico. Black bears live over an indi- (like other large mammals) enter a shallow • Bear cubs are born blind, fully furred, and vidual home range of 24 square kilometers torpor. In this state, similarly to hibernation, without teeth (15 square miles) or more. They will follow seasonal landscape changes to rely on differ- Where to See ent food sources throughout the year. In the Black bears occur in over 150 national parks, spring, they are commonly found near wet- including all parks in the Klamath Network. lands and early green-up areas, while in the summer and fall, they will occur near large More Information berry patches. They will often travel along https://www.dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/living_with/ humanmade trails, retired logging roads, and black_bears.asp game trails. Klamath Network Diet Southern Oregon University Black bears are omnivorous, meaning they 1250 Siskiyou Blvd Ashland, OR 97520 eat both plants and animals. They rely heavily An Unusual Snack - This black bear is munching on dandelions! THIS EDITION PREPARED BY CASSANDRA FRICKE

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