Ursidae Atlas

Ursidae · Ursinae

American Black Bear

Ursus americanus

North America’s most widespread and adaptable bear.

Black bears are the bear most people in the United States actually live near. Color is a poor ID: cinnamon, blond, and even white spirit bears occur. Flexible diet, strong climbers, still widespread in forested North America.

Least Concern — managed by states and provinces North America
American Black Bear
Wikimedia Commons · source
400Typical male, lb
200Typical female, lb
5–6.5 ftStanding height
About 20 years.Wild lifespan

Range

Where they live

Forested landscapes from Alaska to Florida and Newfoundland. In Minnesota they concentrate in the north-central and northeastern forests.

AlaskaPacific NorthwestRockiesUpper Midwest / MinnesotaAppalachiansSoutheastNortheastCanada

Habitat

What they use

  • Mixed forest
  • Bogs and swamps
  • Mountain woodland
  • Wildland–urban edge

Figure — diet mix

What fills the year

Plants & fruit
70%
Insects
15%
Carrion / meat
10%
Other
5%
  • Berries and mast
  • Insects and larvae
  • Green vegetation
  • Carrion
  • Human food if unsecured

Conservation

Least Concern

  • Most abundant living bear species.
  • Conflict is usually about attractants.

Pressures

Vehicle collisionsFood-conditioned conflictHabitat fragmentation

Map

Range sketch and cameras

Filled shapes are schematic core-range sketches for reading the atlas, not official occupancy layers.

Field notes

Worth remembering

  • Not always black — color morphs are common.
  • Excellent climbers.
  • Minnesota’s population is among the more studied in the Midwest.