benjamin94's Identifications

Scientific and common name(s):
These animals are scientifically named Ursus americanus, where Ursus means bear in Latin and americanus refers to the location where they are found (Lariviere, 2001). Ursus americanus are more commonly known as the American black bear.

Habitat and Geographic Range:
American black bears will live where there is food readily available for them (Lariviere, 2001). For example, in one experiment that observed where female black bears were choosing to habituate, it was found that they would go to areas that had a lot of food available (Schooley, 1994). Proving that bears will decide where to habituate mainly based on food availability. In another study, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources were observing how much food was available in Ontario for bears and they had discovered that bears stayed in regions with the most food (Obbard et al., 2014). Along with food availability, black bears also prefer to live in dense, wet and dark forests.
Ursus americanus are found in the majority of North America. For example, the only unpopulated area in Canada is Prince Edward Island (Lariviere, 2001). They are also found all across the USA, but they are not found in states where the weather negatively impacts vegetation (Lariviere, 2001).

Size/Weight and Lifespan:
National Geographic states that American black bears will usually range from 5 feet to 6 feet long (n.d.). In most cases, males are larger than females in both weight and length. In one study in North Carolina, the average weight of male bears was 67.3 kg and females were 50.1 kg (Lariviere, 2001). This same study also showed that male bears take longer than females to reach full size and maturation (Lariviere, 2001).
According to National Geographic, these bears can live on average until they are 20 years old in nature (n.d.). Their lifespan can depend on their geographical location. In some places that are overhunted, average ages can be lower because more bears are killed and do not live as long as anticipated. For this, a rule has been implemented in Ontario for the spring bear hunt, which makes it illegal to hunt for cubs or females that are still caring for their cubs (Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary, 2017). This will help these bears to make it to adulthood and their average lifespan.

Diet:
Ursus americanus are omnivores, meaning they eat animals that they can kill and vegetation. Their diets will change with seasons, depending on what is available and if they are preparing for their specific hibernation. For the summer, they eat mainly vegetation and some fruits, but in autumn, they eat a large amount of berries (Lariviere, 2001). These bears need to eat a lot of carbohydrates and proteins in order to store fats for their type of hibernation, so in the months they are awake, they try to consume as much of these foods as possible. Also, depending on their location, they are sometimes capable of killing larger mammals, which is ideal for caloric intake (Lariviere, 2001). When they are living closer to urban areas, they often go to dumps and eat the garbage there (Lariviere, 2001). Lastly, when bears are being hunted, they are usually baited, and the bears will go to these sites because of the smells and easy source of food. They will continually go to these sites since it is a constant source of food and they do not need to waste their energy to get it.

Reproduction and communication:
Black bears can breed starting at the end of May and until the end of August (Kolenosky, 1990). In one study, it was found that the youngest for a female to give birth was at 5 years old (Kolenosky, 1990). Females usually have a litter of 1 to 4 cubs and they give birth in their dens during their form of hibernation. These animals show courtship behaviour that includes the females showing lordosis behaviour and the males cannot mount them until they are in this position (Boone, Richardson, & Greer, 2003).
These bears make noises during courtship and mating, like barking and growling (Boone, 2003). These noises are often made by males and occurred when other males were close or when they were near a female who they could mate with (Boone et al., 2003). Bears are also vocal to scare away other bears, predators and humans.

Predation:
Bears are hunted throughout Canada and the USA for their meat and hides. The most common predator of this bear is a human. Adult bears do not have many predators but other larger bears and mammals will attack cubs.

Conservation Status:
At this time, black bears have a high population. Other species of bear are at risk because of gallbladder trading, but it is not a problem with Ursus americanus yet (Lariviere, 2001). Humans are affecting the lives of bears by creating more urbanization in the small parts of nature that are left (Lariviere, 2001). The bears need nature to survive, eat and mate, and if humans are invading their space, they could become endangered.

Did you know? :
Bears sometimes get harvested for their gallbladders to trade internationally and it is now illegal to have a bear’s gallbladder in your possession (Lariviere, 2001).

References:
Boone, W.R., Richardson, M.E., & Greer, J.A. (2003). Breeding behavior of the American black bear Ursus americanus. Theriogenology, 60(2), 289-297. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0093-691X(02)01374-2

Kolenosky, G.B. (1990). Reproductive Biology of Black Bears in East-Central Ontario. International Association for Bear Research and Management, 8, 385-392. https://doi.org/10.2307/3872942

Lariviere, S. (2001). Ursus americanus. American Society of Mammalogists, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1644/1545-1410(2001)6470001:UA2.0.CO;2

National Geographic. (n.d.). American Black Bear. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/a/american-black-bear/

Obbard, M.E., Howe, E.J., Wall, L.L., Allison, B., Black, R., Davis, P., Dix-Gibson, L., Gatt, M., & Hall, M.N. (2014). Relationships among food availability, harvest, and human-bear conflict at landscape scales in Ontario, Canada. International Association for Bear Research and Management, 25(2), 98-110. https://doi.org/10.2192/URSUS-D-13-00018.1

Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary. (2017). 2017 Hunting Regulations Summary. Retrieved from https://www.ontario.ca/document/ontario-hunting-regulations summary

Schooley, R.L. (1994). Annual Variation in Habitat Selection: Patterns Concealed by Pooled Data. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 58(2), 367-374. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3809404