The Bear Facts Part I - Black Bears

The Bear Facts part I – Black Bears

On Wednesday, July 6th 2011 a 57- year old man was mauled to death by a female grizzly bear on a trail at Yellowstone National Park. Unfortunately the hiker (and his wife, who survived) encountered the bear sow while she was with her two cubs. Without exception mother bears are violently protective against any perceived threat to their offspring. An encounter with a mama bear is easily one of the most hazardous scenarios for a hiker in North America.

The recent tragedy in Yellowstone reminds us to respect the beasts we visit when we spend time in the outdoors. Of all the wildlife a wise hiker is bound to respect, bears rank first and foremost. Intelligent, curious, common, powerful and fierce, bears are among the most magnificent- and the most dangerous – of all creatures to be found on the trail.

There are 3 major types of bear to be found in North America- Black Bear, Brown Bear, and Polar Bear (The ever-famous Grizzly Bear is now considered a sub-division of Brown Bear). All should be treated with respect, and given a wide berth indeed.

Black Bear (Ursas americanus)

The most common- and because of this perhaps the most dangerous - of all bear species in North America is the black bear. Black bears are the smallest of North America’s bears – with adult males weighing in at fewer than 550 lbs, usually. From nose to toes, the length is about six and half feet. They’re incredibly strong for their size, and can casually flip over boulders that weigh over 250 lbs. In addition, black bears are surprisingly graceful runners, able to hit speeds of 25-30 mph. No human could ever hope to outrun a black bear (or any other type of bear) under any circumstances.

Despite the name, “black” bears come in several shades, including black, brown, blonde, and cinnamon. Albino black bears are rare, but they exist.

Black bears are so common that International Union for the Conservation of Nature classifies them as “Least Concern” – their population is high enough that they’re in no perceived danger of extinction.

This is good news for the black bears and for their ecosystem, which relies on the bears to keep the insect population in check. Black bears are omnivorous, and thus place plants, animals and bugs on their menu. They love to feast on young trees and other plants, saplings and shoots being a favorite. Black bears are also fine connoisseurs of nuts, berries and fruits, causing much consternation amongst the gray squirrel and chipmunk populations, who are powerless to defend their winter hoards against kleptomaniac black bears. Possessing a sweet tooth, black bears enjoy raiding beehives as well, considering the stings of the indignant bees a small price to pay for the golden honey goodness inside. Black bears will occasionally augment their diets with a some good old fashioned prey, sometimes a moose calf or faun, and very often fish in a local river or creek.

Black bears are found throughout Canada, the Pacific Northwest, the entire Rocky Mountain range, all throughout New England, and up and down Appalachia and the Great Smokey Mountains. They’ve even found places to live in northern Mexico, and in parts of Arizona and New Mexico. Always adaptive, black bears can tolerate most climates, and can be found almost anywhere there’s a food source, and timber for a habitat. This adaptability and large population means that these bears have the highest occurrence of human vs. bear encounters.

Famous Black Bears

The ubiquity of black bears has led to a few celebrities among the species. First we have the anonymous-yet highly influential- black bear that was captured by one of President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt’s hunting party in 1902. Roosevelt declined to shoot the helpless beast. When a newspaper cartoon illustrated this act of mercy, toy maker Morris Mitchtom was inspired to create a toy bear for children. The “Teddy” bear was duly created and duly became an incomparable success in the history of toy merchandising.

Soon following was Winnipeg or “Winnie”, a black bear cub owned by Lt. Harry Colebourn of the Canadian Army during the First World War. Winnie was smuggled aboard ship to England as an unofficial mascot of Colebourn’s unit. Unable to be sent to French battlefields (where there was a strict no-bear policy in the trenches), Winnie was donated to the London Zoo, where her gentle and playful ways made her a favorite with children for the rest of her long life. Among the young hearts Winnie captured was that of Christopher Robin Milne, son of A.A. Milne. Christopher Robin Milne soon named his own teddy bear “Winnie”, and A.A. Milne was soon putting pen to paper detailing the adventures of Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh.


Smokey Bear had in fact existed in concept art since 1944, but in 1950 the US National Forrest got a living, breathing spokes-bear they named “Smokey”. The wee black bear cub had just barely survived the Capitan Gap Wildfire, and was immediately adopted by kind-hearted soldiers and forest wardens. Smokey became a national celebrity and was brought to the National Zoo in Washington DC. There he “worked” 26 years of government service, before passing away of natural causes. His remains were buried in a grave in New Mexico. Smokey The Bear still admonishes outdoorsman to be wary of wildfires, and is one of the most recognizable cartoons of all time.

Human and Bear Encounters
At their relatively small (for bears, at least) size, black bears are typically not very belligerent and do no seek out confrontations with humans. This being said, the sheer number of black bears makes it very possible that the outdoorsman will encounter one of the beasts. Matters are made worse by the fact that bears are opportunists, and will always look for the easy score in finding food. This often has tragic consequences for both bears and humans.

If a bear associates humans with easy and quick food, it won’t be long before the bear starts investigating campsites. Since bears are nocturnal, this will usually happen at night, with an inquisitive, but not necessarily violent bear investigating camp kitchens and tents.

Game and wildlife officials call such a bear a “nuisance bear”, and from then on, his days are numbered. Once a bear becomes a “human junkie”, addicted to easy human food, he rarely recovers, and a disaster is only a matter of time.

Human beings react to being awoken in the middle of the night by bears about as well as can be expected, and the fight-or-flight instinct kicks in on both the bear and the human. If the 550 lb black bear chooses “fight” against an unarmed human, the fight usually ends in the bear’s favor. After cleaning up what’s left of the late camper, wildlife officials will normally then hunt down the bear.



When in Bear Country
People who are camping overnight should be sure to put all their “smell-ables” in a bear bag- a sack that contains any scented item in a camp. Toiletries, sunscreen, and (most important of all), food must be placed in the bear bag and strung on a horizontal rope in between two trees. The bag should be suspended not only ten feet in the air but also four feet from the horizontal wire it’s suspended from, and four feet away from the vertical poles or trees. Some campsites will often have artificial bear hanging poles or pipes to make it easier for the camper.




Do not under any circumstances feed bears! This basic tenant of respect for wildlife cannot be stressed enough. Bears are wild animals and must NOT be encouraged to associate human beings with easy food. A foolhardy camper makes things extremely dangerous for the next person to cross the bear’s path, to say nothing of the bear that is better off not picking up any bad habits. As it is said on the walls of many a visitor center: A Fed Bear is a Dead Bear.

Avoid bears by making noise. Banging pots and pans in the middle of a night will typically end a bear’s curiosity about the campsite. If you encounter a bear on the trail, retreat away slowly, but do not run.

Encountering a mother bear with cubs is the most dangerous of all scenarios. Mother bears are homicidally protective of their young, and are normally not interested in scaring the perceived enemy away—preferring to kill the perceived threat. Sadly there is no sure-fire way to surviving this. Bear mace might work, so too might dropping your pack and running for your life.

Bears are the natural landlords of the parks and wildernesses we love to hike and camp in. Fascinating and frightening, they’re an awesome force of nature that remind us humans of our proper place in the world. Despite their inconvenience and sometimes even danger, bears are no less a part of the magnificence of nature then spectacular views and interesting foliage. Always respect the bears!