Black Bear - Ursus americanus

Description

The black bear is the largest wild mammal in Missouri. It has a long muzzle, rounded ears, stout legs and a short tail nearly hidden in its heavy fur. There are five toes on both front and hind feet with short, curved claws. Their eyesight is not very good, but their senses of hearing and smell are excellent.

In Missouri, black bears are predominantly glossy black with a brown muzzle and sometimes have a small white patch on the chest. Occasionally, cinnamon-colored bears are seen. The fur is longest and glossiest in fall. In summer the coat is ragged and dull due to wear and shedding. Males and females look alike, though females are usually smaller than males.

Black bears live from 12 to 15 years in the wild, but captive individuals have lived 30 years or more. Bears are usually silent but on occasion utter a variety of sounds including grunts, squeaks, roars and moans. When they feel threatened, bears chuff and pop their jaws.

Habitat

Black bears live in heavily wooded areas. In winter, they den in hollow trees, fallen logs, caves, cavities among tree roots, or excavated burrows. They have no permanent summer home and sleep either in a tree or on the ground.

Habits

Black bears are solitary except for a female and her cubs. They feed and move mostly during the evening and early morning. They are abroad in the daytime only during summer when berries are ripe.

Black bears frequently scar the trunks of trees with their teeth and claws. These marked trees serve as signposts to make other bears aware of their presence.

In autumn, black bears eat heavily, building a layer of fat to get them through winter. They enter dens in October or November and go into a deep sleep. They do not truly hibernate because their body temperatures and pulse rates remain normal. During warm spells, bears may leave their dens. By April, most have left their winter dens.

Bears walk with a lumbering gait but can run short distances up to 25 mph. They often rear up on their hind legs to get a better view of their surroundings. They are expert tree climbers and descend trees rear end first. They swim well and have been known to swim as far as 5 miles at a time.

Reproduction

Mating occurs in May or June, but the fertilized egg does not begin development in the female until late autumn. The young are born in late January or early February. The average litter size is two cubs, sometimes three.

Bear cubs are tiny at birth, weighing 6 to 8 ounces. They are blind, toothless, and covered with fine hair. At 6 weeks, their eyes open, their teeth emerge, and they weigh around 2 pounds.

At 2 months, the cubs leave the den with their mother for the first time. They nurse throughout the summer and usually den with her the following winter. After cubs leave their mother, they often stay together through their second summer.

Foods

Black bears eat a wide variety of foods. Main plant foods include grasses, berries and other fruits, all kinds of seeds including nuts, the inner bark of trees, and roots. Animal foods include ants, bees and their honey, crickets, grasshoppers, fish, frogs, small rodents, fawns, birds’ eggs, and carrion of all kinds including other bears.

When searching for food, bears claw open rotten stumps and turn over logs and rocks. When they find a supply of extra food, they often cover it with debris and return to feed on it again. They have learned to like the foods of people and may make themselves obnoxious and even dangerous around campsites and garbage disposal sites.

Distribution and Status

Black bears were once common in Missouri forests. By 1880, they were nearly extinct because of overharvest and loss of habitat. Occasional reports of bears in the Bootheel region continued through 1931.

Today, black bears are considered rare in Missouri and they are protected by state law. Their numbers are slowly increasing and sightings are becoming more common in the southern half of the state.

Reports of black bear sightings are important in determining their distribution and abundance. Please report sightings using this form.