Black Bears: Facing the Facts Common names Black bear, bruin Scientific name Ursus americanus Size Adults range from 5 to 6 feet long, and 2 to 3 feet tall at the shoulder. Weight Adult males average 225 pounds, adult females average 130 pounds, and yearlings are typically 60 to 75 pounds. Color Black bears range in color from black, brown, cinnamon and reddish-blonde. They have a brown muzzle and often a blaze (small patch of white) on the breast. The profile of the face is straight or “Roman,” not dished like a grizzly bear’s. Range/Habitat Black bears live in forested foothills and mountains. The best black bear habitat in the state is in western and northeastern Washington, and the Blue Mountains of the southeast. Abundance More than 600,000 black bears reside in North America, of which at least 25,000 black bears are estimated to inhabit Washington. Food Black bears are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and animals. Their diet consists of grasses; berries; nuts; tubers; wood fiber; insects; small mammals, including deer fawns and elk calves; eggs; honey; carrion (dead animals); fish; and occasionally livestock. Habits Black bears are primarily crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) and solitary animals, except for sows (females) with cubs. Black bears may den from mid-October into April in tree cavities, hollow logs, beneath roots of down trees, and in rock outcrops. Black bears are not true hibernators and may move from den to den in more mild winter climates. Some bears in coastal Washington may remain active throughout the winter.

Life span Black bears may live 20 years or more in the wild and 30 years in captivity. Breeding Black bears normally breed for the first time at 3.5-5.5 years of age. Females have one litter every other year, the gestation period being 7 to 7.5 months. Breeding season runs from about mid-June through mid-July in Washington. All members of the bear family experience “delayed implantation.” Females conceive during the summer, but development is delayed until mid-November or December, just two months before the cubs are born. Young Females normally give birth to two cubs. Cubs are born in the winter den during January or February. Newborns weigh less than a pound. Though weaned in August, cubs remain with their mothers for about 15 months.

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