Black Bear Basics

Black bear are perhaps the most misunderstood big game animal in North America. It's easy to understand why. There is simply a lot of misinformation circulating about these animals.

It's a simple fact of human nature that animals without antlers or horns do not generate as much interest as those with massive headgear. Consequently, the reality that black bear are very different from most other big game in terms of habits and life cycles is often overlooked. And it has, at times, been fashionable to categorize a black bear as a dangerous beast that must be feared, or a perpetual pest that is worthless to have around.

Fortunately, people's attitudes toward black bear and their knowledge about how to hunt them is beginning to change. There has always been a fraternity of hunters who pursued this big game trophy. Although small at first, our ranks have grown to a significant level. This increasing interest in North America's most abundant member of the bear family has led to more scientific studies about them. These studies by dedicated black bear biologists have uncovered amazing new information about the animal that will help hunters better understand the habits and behavior of black bear. There's still a lot to be learned about black bear, but enough valuable information has already been gathered to uncover many of their secrets and to discount myths and outright falsehoods that have persisted for too long.

Appearance

Most black bears are easy to identify. As their name implies, many of them are predominantly black in color, with brown muzzles. The amount of brown on snouts varies, as does the shade of brown. In addition to brown muzzles, some black bear have white markings on their chests. These markings are little more than spots on some animals and are prominent, V-shaped designs on others.

Color Phases

Not all black bear are black in color. Some are described as blue and others white, while the most common coat coloration other than black are various shades of brown. They can be blonde or cinnamon, dark brown, reddish brown and any shade in between.
BR> In the eastern US more than 99% of black bear are black, with color variations rare. Brown phase bear occur more often in western Minnesota, with an estimated 6% of the bear population in Minnesota being brown. Brown black bear become even more common in parts of the western US.

In southwestern Colorado, for example, over 80% of the population is dark brown or chocolate, with another five to eight percent the lighter blonde color phase.

Distinguishing Black Bear from Grizzlies

In areas where the range of brown black bear and grizzly bear overlap, it is usually possible to distinguish one from the other. A grizzly normally has a distinct hump on its back above the shoulders, while the back of a black bear offers a straight line profile. When viewed from the side, the head of a black bear, from forehead to nose, slopes downward in a straight line. Faces of grizzlies are indented or dished.

There's an old joke about another means of determining whether a bear is a black bear is a black bear or grizzly, although it's not a foolproof method. Simply sneak up to the animal in question, kick it in the rear, then run to the nearest tree and climb it. If the bear follows and climbs after you, it's a black bear. Bear that can't climb are grizzlies. If you are caught and killed before reaching a tree, it's probably a grizzly, too.

In Colorado the DOW will not confirm that grizzlies reside in the state, but they have the warning, "it is illegal to kill a grizzly bear", which would lead you to believe that they may exist.

Travel and Home Range

These animals seldom run if they don't have to, but they do a lot of walking, often traveling many miles during the course of a year. Boars usually do more traveling than sows. Consequently, they have a larger home range or territory. Dispite their short legs, black bear can run fast when they need to, at least for short distances. Black bear can reach speeds of 30 miles per hour, which is faster than any human can run. Black bear are also good swimmers.

More on Colorado range variations when obtained by DOW.

Periods of Activity

The time of day black bear are active depends on the time of year and age of the animal. Mature boars and breeding sows can be on the move at virtually every hour of the day during June and July. During fall months, old boars have a tendency to be more nocturnal than other bear, with most activity concentrated early and late in the day. When actively feeding, however, and especially when food is scarce or scattered, bear can be on the move at any hour.

Diet

Although classified as carnivores, black bear are actually omnivores, meaning they have a varied diet including both plant and animal matter. Their teeth are well suited for this purpose. They do eat meat, but also graze on grass and other vegetation, and dig up roots. They also consume a wide variety of berries, fruits, nuts and insects. The bulk of their diet consists of items other than meat.

Stomach analysis of black bear found that an average of 86% of the contents was composed of vegetation. Insects comprised another nine percent of the contents, while mammals, birds and fish comprised the final five percent.

Wood fiber or sapwood was eaten most frequently during April, May and June. The bark of evergreen trees is peeled by bear to get at the inner sapwood, sometimes resulting in damage to the tree.

Fungus, grasses, evergreen needles and meat are consumed in varying amounts practically every month that black bear are active. Although evergreen needles are frequently present on black bear stomachs, they are never present in large quantities. Leaves and blossoms of huckleberry plants are eaten before berries are ripe, with peak use during November. Fungus is most important during August and September. Meat consumption is highest in April.

In areas where fruits and nuts may not be available during the fall or when there has been a mast crop failure, black bear turn to vegetation and meat for sustenance. The major nut producing trees in the western portion of the black bear's range are white bark pines, which are found in the Rocky and Sierra Nevada Mountains. Pine nits are eaten during both spring and fall months.

Identifying Sexes

Black bear can be difficult to sex when viewed in the wild, especially during the fall. An animal with cubs, whether during spring or fall, is obviously a sow. However, immature sows and those that have either lost or been separated from their cubs, are harder to sex.

The sex organs of sows are only visible from the rear and you have to be close or use binoculars to see the vulva. Urine soaked hair usually extends downward from the vulva.

Males are easiest to distinguish from lone females during spring and summer months. Their testicles are usually prominent and visible between the hind legs. A long tuft of pointed hair that hangs down from the belly in front of the hind legs marks the location of the penis.

By late fall testicles are no longer visible, having been drawn up into the abdomen, and scrotum are obscured by hair. Bear seen at this time of year without cubs, and in a position where a penis or vulva aren't visible, could be either a male or female. However, body size may be a clue. Boars are generally bigger than sows, with larger heads and longer bodies. However, this isn't foolproof because an adult sow may be larger than a young boar.

The front feet of young boars usually appear large in proportion to their body. Front feet of adult sows, on the other hand, might look small in proportion to the size of their body. Bear that appear short and squat are often sows, while boars tend to look long and lanky. Few sows will have bodies that exceed 5 1/2 feet in length.

If two adult black bears are seen together during June and July, the larger of the two will often be the boar, especially if it is following the other. Boars will grunt when following a sow in heat.

Black Bear Season Dates Page

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