Black Bear

One of the largest animals in Pennsylvania is the black bear, Ursus americanus. The species ranges through much of forested North America from Mexico to Alaska and from Florida to northern Canada. In different regions, black bears exhibit different life patterns, denning times, tolerance of human activity, habitat preferences, home range, reproduction behavior, pelt coloration and even size and weight.

Most Pennsylvania bears are black, although a few are brown or a cinnamon-color. (In other parts of its range, Ursus americanus may be brown, whitish, or bluish-gray, but the majority are black.) The body is glossy black, the muzzle tinged with tan. Often a bear will have on its chest a white mark, sometimes in a prominent "V." The fur is thick, long and fairly soft. Sexes are colored alike.

In Pennsylvania, bears are found in large forested areas statewide. They are lacking in large urban and agricultural areas. The total population currently is estimated to be 15,000.

In spring and summer, they frequent openings to feed on fresh vegetation and berries; in fall, they occupy dense, regenerating openings and mountain laurel thickets. In the northeast, our state's other pocket of prime bruin habitat, bears favor brushy swamps with rhododendron, blueberry and spruce; they also inhabit mixed hardwood forests, especially where underbrush is thick.

Bears range over large areas. Movements are affected by food availability, breeding activities and human disturbances.

Although bears show remarkable adaptability in living close to humans, their numbers decline as their habitat shrinks. When bears interface with human-altered habitats, there are sometimes what we call "bear problems" -- honeybee, livestock, and crop destruction. Protecting suitable wild lands, especially those containing wetlands, is probably the single best habitat management tool.

Text and photo courtesy of the Pennsylvania Game Commission: Chuck Furgus and Hal Korber respectively.

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