American Black Bear

Description:

Black bears are medium-sized bears found in North America. The term "black" is a bit of a misnomer as these bears may be brown (cinammon), black, or even white (Kermode). Black bears may weight as much as 600 pounds, but most are much smaller. Males tend to be larger than the females.

Habitat:

North American forests.

Notes:

This is a yearling black bear. Cubs normally stay with the mother for two years, but this youngster was out on his own and seemed independent. I didn't see any sows in the vicinity that acted like this was their cub so I suspect that the cub was orphaned. Still, he seemed healthy and active, although he spend lots of time up in the trees and away from any other bears that were in the vicinity.