Animal	American Black Bear
Scientific Name	Ursus americanus
Type	Mammals
Diet	Omnivore
Lifespan	20 years
Size	1.3 – 1.9 meters in length
Weight	55 – 300 kilograms
Phylum	Chordata
Conservation status	Least concern > Near threatened > Vulnerable > Endangered > Critically endangered > Extinct in the wild > Extinct

American black bears can be found in most of Canada, and some of the United States and Mexico in forests, swamps, and mountains. Depending on the location, black bears aren’t always black, they might be shades of brown, blueish gray, red, and blond. Although they usually hibernate, they don’t always in warmer areas.

Generally, these bears eat vegetation such as berries, honey, herbs, and grasses, but occasionally are found eating insects, small mammals, and carrion. Wolves, lions, and brown bears are all predators of the black bear. To escape the predators as well as find food, the black bears climb trees, which they can do very well.

Breeding occurs in June and July, and the gestation period lasts around two-thirds of a year. Two to five bears are born while the mother hibernates. When the cubs are born, they weigh less than half a kilogram and are blind. The cubs stay with the mother for two years, learning skills they need to survive.

Kermode bears are a subspecies of the American black bear that occasionally have white fur. The white-furred bears are generally referred to as spirit bears and are very rare. There are only around one-hundred to five-hundred of these out in the wild. They can mostly be found in Princess Royal, Gribbell, and Roderick, all islands of British Columbia.

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References:

• American Black Bear on Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_black_bear
• American Black Bear on National Geographic – https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/a/american-black-bear/
• American Black Bear on The Animal Files: https://www.theanimalfiles.com/mammals/carnivores/bear_american_black.html
• Kermode bear on Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermode_bear