We have received the mortality reports on the 5 bears killed thus far in the 2012 bear hunt. Opening day saw the only and first female reported killed to date. She was a 12 year old sow, blonde except for a dark un…derside, with her hair missing on one foot. Perhaps she had survived a […]
Although they all live in North America, American black bears are not closely related to brown bears and polar bears; genetic studies reveal that they split from a common ancestor. Both American and Asiatic black bears are considered sister taxa, and are more closely related to each other than to other species of bear. A […]
Up to 85% of the black bear’s diet consists of vegetation, though they tend to dig less than brown bears, eating far fewer roots, bulbs, corms and tubers than the latter species. Young shoots from trees and shrubs during the spring period are important to black bears emerging from hibernation, as they assist in rebuilding […]
Black bears were once not considered true or “deep” hibernators, but because of discoveries about the metabolic changes that allow black bears to remain dormant for months without eating, drinking, urinating, or defecating, most biologists have redefined mammalian hibernation as “specialized, seasonal reduction in metabolism concurrent with scarce food and cold weather”. Black bears are […]
Reproduction and development Sows usually produce their first litter at the age of 3–5 years.[30] Sows living in urban areas tend to get pregnant at younger ages. The breeding period usually occurs in the June–July period, though it can extend to August in the species’ northern range. The breeding period lasts for 2–3 weeks. Sows […]
