American Black Bear

A young black bear near the Cabin District.

NPS/Corey Lycopolus

 

 

Despite the healthy bear population across Valles Caldera and the Jemez Mountains, American black bear sightings are fairly uncommon, as they are solitary and somewhat elusive creatures. Black bears are omnivores, so they will eat almost anything. They compete with other large mammals for food and resources, but their opportunistic eating habits allow them to be highly adaptable, feeding on whatever is available. In the Jemez Mountains, black bears are known to drive mountain lions away from kill sites. This behavior contributes significant carrion to the food web, which is an important resource supporting ecosystem biodiversity and structure.

 

Scientific Name

American black bear, Ursus americanus

Population at Valles Caldera

~60 (~17 bears per 100 square km across the Jemez Mountains)

Where to See

Redondo Slope, Rabbit Mountain, Cerro Abrigo, Cerro Pinon, and near streams during elk calving season.

Size and Behavior

• Males weigh 210–315 pounds, females weigh 135–200 pounds; adults stand about 3 feet at the shoulder.
• May live 15–30 years.
• Home range: male, 6–124 square miles, female, 2–45 square miles.
• Can climb trees; are adapted to life in forest and along forest edges.
• Food includes rodents, insects, elk calves, trout, pine nuts, grasses, and other vegetation.
• Mates in spring; gives birth the following winter to 1–3 cubs.
• Considered true hibernators.
• Have fair eyesight and an exceptional sense of smell.

 

Population

Black bears are most commonly observed in the park during the summer months, particularly elk calving season. Black bears have few natural predators, although both cubs and adults are occasionally killed by their own kind or by the other large carnivores with which they compete for food, such as mountain lions. Most black bear mortality in the park is likely attributed to old age or other natural causes. Outside the park, some black bears are killed during state regulated hunting seasons. Black bears are occasionally radio-collared for research focused on monitoring habitat selection in response to ecosystem changes and disturbance. Read more.

 

Black bear track

NPS

Description

The black bear (Ursus americanus) is the most common and widely distributed bear species in North America. Relatively few black bears at Valles Caldera are actually black in color; more often they are brown, blond, and cinnamon. Black bears eat almost anything, including grass, fruits, tree cambium, eggs, insects, fish, elk calves, and carrion. Their short, curved claws enable them to climb trees.

Black bears spend most of their time during fall and early winter feeding during hyperphagia. In November, they locate or excavate a den on north-facing slopes between 5,800–8,600 feet (1,768–2,621 m), where they hibernate until late March.

Males and females without cubs are solitary, except during the mating season, May to early July. They may mate with a number of individuals, but occasionally a pair stays together for the entire period. Both genders usually begin breeding at age four. Black bears experience delayed implantation. Total gestation time is 200 to 220 days, but only during the last half of this period does fetal development occur.

Birth occurs in mid-January to early February; the female becomes semiconscious during delivery. Usually two cubs are born. At birth, the cubs are blind, toothless, and almost hairless. After delivery the mother continues to sleep for another two months while the cubs nurse and sleep.

 

Duration:

1 minute, 28 seconds

In this video, Ranger Hayley introduces the various behaviors and appearances of the American black bear, state mammal of New Mexico.

Learn more

 

Wildlife Safety

 

Research

Since 2013, the Large Mammal Monitoring Project has provided new insights on black bears, mountain lions, elk, and mule deer across the Jemez Mountains, demonstrating how these animals' populations and behaviors are impacted by changes in the ecosystem.

Results have shown that 48% of bed sites for black bears are located in undisturbed habitat while only 11% and 2% of bed sites are located in thinned and prescribed burn sites, respectively. The continued monitoring and analysis of these data will help inform future decisions regarding forest management, wildfire mitigation, and habitat restoration at Valles Caldera National Preserve and beyond.

 

 

Resources

2015. Yellowstone Science 23:2. Yellowstone Center for Resources, Mammoth WY.

Fortin, J.K., C.C. Schwartz, K.A. Gunther, J.E. Teisberg, M.A. Haroldson, M.A. Evans, and C.T. Robbins. 2013. Dietary adjustability of grizzly bears and American Black Bears in Yellowstone National Park. Journal of Wildlife Management 77(2): 270–281.

Gunther, K.A. and T. Wyman. 2008. Human habituated bears: The next challenge in bear management in Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone Science 16(2): 35–41.

Haroldson, M.A., and K.A. Gunther. 2013. Roadside bear viewing opportunities in Yellowstone National Park: characteristics, trends, and influence of whitebark pine. Ursus 24(1):27–41.

Herrero, S. 1985. Bear attacks: Their causes and avoidance. New York: Nick Lyons Books.

Meagher, M. 2008. Bears in transition, 1959–1970s. Yellowstone Science 16(2): 5–12.

Richardson, Leslie, Tatjana Rosen, Kerry Gunther, and Chuck Schwartz. 2014. The economics of roadside bear viewing. Journal of Environmental Management. 140:102-110.

Schullery, P. 1992. The bears of Yellowstone. Worland, Wyoming: High Plains Publishing Company.

Teisberg, J. E., Haroldson, M. A., Schwartz, C. C., Gunther, K. A., Fortin, J. K. and Robbins, C. T. 2014. Contrasting past and current numbers of bears visiting Yellowstone cutthroat trout streams. Journal of Wildlife Management, 78: 369–378.

White, P.J., R.A. Garrott, and G.E. Plumb, eds. 2013. Yellowstone’s Wildlife in Transition. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.