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Black bears are usually black with a brown muzzle and often has a white patch on the chest. Although black is the predominant color, chocolate and cinnamon brown color phases are also common. Black bears have a heavy body, short tail, rounded ears and a hind foot with five toes. They are much quicker than their appearance would suggest with recorded speeds being in excess of over 25 miles per hour (40 kilometers per hour) for a short distance.

Adult male black bears range from about 50 to 75 inches (130 to 190 centimeters) in length and weigh 130 to 660 pounds (60 to 300 kilograms). Females measure from 50 to 75 inches (130 to 190 centimeters) and weigh 90 to 175 pounds (40 to 80 kilogram). Black bears vary considerably in size, depending on the quality of the food available. Males may be from about 20 to 60 percent larger than females. At birth, cubs weigh 7 to 11 ounces(225 to 330 grams).

Black bears are omnivorous and feed on a wide range of foods, depending on what is available. Insects (particularly ants), nuts, berries, acorns, grasses, roots, and other vegetation form the bulk of their diet in most areas. Black bears can also be efficient predators of deer fawns, elk and moose calves. The black bear may also consume a variety of other small mammals (ground squirrels, marmots, etc.) in their diet. In some areas of coastal British Columbia and Alaska they also feed on spawning salmon.

Females reach sexual maturity at 3 to 5 years of age and males a year or so later. Mating takes place in June, July, and August, and pairs may remain together for only a few hours or for several days. Females will normally mate with several males over the two to three weeks of the breeding season. Females will normally breed every other year. Pregnancy last about 220 days, and the cubs are born in a maternity den in January and February. Litter size ranges from one to five, but two is the average. Cubs may be weaned at six to eight months, but they remain with their mothers for a year and a half. Consequently, the most often that female black bears can mate, unless they lose their cubs prematurely, is every two years. Longevity in the wild is 20 to 25 years.

At birth, the cubs are blind, hairless and very tiny. They weigh from 8½ to 11½ ounces (240 to 330 grams). Virtually helpless, they are, however, able to move sufficiently to suckle on their mother who remains asleep. Her milk is calorically very rich containing over 20% fat. In contrast, human milk only contains about 4% fat.

Most black bears, including all who live in areas with severe weather climates, will hibernate for between four and seven months. Where the weather is much more temperate and the period without food available is quite short, black bears may either not hibernate or they may simply nest in a thicket or other sheltered area for brief periods of time.

While hibernating, a bear's heart rate drops from between 40 to 70 beats per minute to only 8 to 12 beats per minute and its metabolism slows down by half. Unlike many other animals who hibernate, its body temperature only undergoes a minor reduction of 3 to 7 degrees Centigrade (5 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit). During the hibernation period, all bears lose a great deal of weight. Adult males and adolescent bears lose between 15% and 30% of their weight while it is not uncommon for a female cub with newborn cubs to have lost as much as 40% of her weight.

Most black bears vacate their winter dens in April or May. Both the climatic conditions (snow cover and temperature) and physiological factors such as the bear's age, the status of its health and its remaining fat reserves affect the exact timing of emergence from its den. Normally, adult males emerge first. Females with newborn cubs are usually the last to leave their dens.




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