Scientific Name:
Ursus americanus

Family Name:
Ursidae

Head & Body Size:
59-71 in. (150-180 cm)

Tail Size:
5 in. (12 cm)

Weight:
132-310 lb (60-140 kg)average, but known to exceed 500 lbs.

Color:
uniform black, brown, or cinnamon with a lighter colored muzzle. There is a rare white colored that has been observed.

Life Span:
32 years

Diet:
American black bears are omnivorous, but the majority of their diet is comprised of vegetation. Generally speaking, about 80% of their diet is comprised of grasses, herbs, berries, roots, fungus, fruits and nuts. Insects comprise another 10%, and the other 10% is human refuse. Where bears come into more contact with people, like around cities, garbage comprises a larger part of their diet. Black bears that live along the coast or near rivers often eat fish and crustaceans, as well as scavenging on marine mammal carcasses. In northern Canada, the bears there eat a lot of lemmings. In Alaska they eat moose calves and salmon. In the Adriondack park in New York State, they eat a lot of deer calves.