Common name: North American Black Bear
Scientific name: Ursus americanus
Conservation Status: Least Concern
At the zoo: The Spice Bears! Basil (male, 8y), Rosemary (female, 8y) & Thyme (female, 8y). These bears are rescues from Alaska; their mother was lost in a human-wildlife conflict. You can find them in the SE corner of the zoo. They have recently moved to a new enclosure close by; if you walk up the road next to their old enclosure you'll be able to spot them. Their old enclosure is being renovated for our grizzly trio.
Habitat:
North American Black Bears are found throughout North America in a variety of habitats including forests, shrublands, grasslands, wetlands, and deserts.
Diet:
Black Bears enjoy a wide variety of food including flowering plants, succulent greens, fruit, nuts, insects, fish, occasionally deer, elk, and moose calves, and carrion.
Median Life Expectancy:
20 years
Biology:
Black Bear weights vary due to hibernation: they pack on weight in the fall and emerge from their dens lean and hungry in the spring. Black Bears can hibernate anywhere from 3-8 months, depending on the climate. During this time, they can lose up to 40% of their body weight.
Taxonomically Black Bears are classified as carnivores, but they live as omnivores. Although they are opportunistic predators, they depend on a wide variety of plant life, like berries and nuts, that vary both in quantity and quality depending on the season. Most of their movements are centered around searching for and gathering food. They have better eyesight than humans and their sense of smell is seven times greater than that of a dog's. They mark their territory by rubbing against and clawing at trees.
Conservation message:
As human settlement pushes farther into bear habitat, encounters between bears and people become more common. Bears that associate food with humans may become bolder in their search for food. Help bears stay wild by avoiding bear encounters and taking steps to reduce attracting them to human habitats. This includes storing garbage in a bear-proof garbage container, picking ripe berries and fruit regularly, and removing bird feeders in the spring.
Fun Fact:
Although they are called Black Bears, their colour can be various shades of brown, reddish-brown, black, or even white, as seen in the Kermode bear of coastal British Columbia.
