Black Bear. History and Identification

History. Long before prehistoric man came to this continent, man and bears were enemies. The primitive people in Europe recorded in drawings on their cave walls the struggle which existed between them and the greater bears. The black bear has been no exception in this long feud. As civilization moved westward the warfare between man and bear grew in intensity and the bear was the loser.

In many sections of the eastern seaboard states, where once he was plentiful, the black bear approached extinction. A few survivors, crowded into the relatively small islands of wilderness that today form a part of our National and State park system, continued to exist and, during the past 20 years, even to multiply. During the period of colonization thousands of bears were killed annually by fur traders and by farmers w h o resented their inroads on livestock.

The bear population rises and falls, although in a less ordered chronological cycle than those of other big and small game animals. Many of the eastern and central states have protected them by law and others have granted protection except for a brief hunting season. In eastern Canada, however, they have approached the pest stage in many areas, and hunting and trapping the black bear is encouraged by a bounty. New Brunswick, for example, offers a free bear-hunting license to the nonresident anglers w h o visit the province for the spring fishing.

The last census of big-game animals made by the U. S. Fish and Wild life Service in 1963, though not complete, indicated that there were more than 250,000 in the United States, and probably twice as many more inhabit the great forests of Canada . The state of Washington claims a bear population which it estimates at 25,000—5,000 more than the number present in Alaska, according to Alaskan officials.

Black bear

Identification. T h e term "black bear " often is misleading, for this bear may be anything but black. He varies in coloration from black to gray-black on through cinnamon, blue-gray, and creamy-white. This factor has resulted in many arguments as to species, not only by the non-scientific hunter but by some zoologists. One well-known zoologist has advanced the theory that, since any departure from the black in eastern bears is a rarity, the color phases result from an infusion of Asiatic blood via the Bering Straits which did not have time to spread eastward.

Normally, the black bear keeps the coloring to which he is born, although there may be slight seasonal variations in the length and glossiness of the pelage. T h e offspring of a black bear may show a mixture in coloration. A cinnamon mother, for example, may have one black and two cinnamon cubs, and in some areas—Mississippi, for example - there may be several shades of cinnamon brown.

The glacier bear (Eurarctos emmonsii) constitutes one of the most unusual color phases of the black bear group, ranging from pale gray to a Maltese blue. As a result of this coloration it is called " blue bear" by some of the natives who have encountered it among the coastal glaciers west of the St. Elias Range in Alaska. The glacier bear is a rarity, and is greatly prized as a trophy.

It is estimated that there are but a few hundred of these bears in existence, and zoologists have been anxious to obtain skulls and exact measurements of the animals. Although the bear has a definite black-bear skull, the teeth are smaller and in most instances the claws are shorter and more curved. It is an excellent swimmer, and seems more at home in the water than other members of the group. It is not unusual to see a Maltese mother with one Maltese cub and one coal-black one.

Variations in size and general appearance are also dependent up on the region. The North Carolina and Tennessee black bear, for instance, is stockier than the rangy Florida species, and the Rocky Mountain species vary in conformation from long, narrow skulls to a distinctly broad-shaped skull. The black bear looks deceivingly awkward, but is, in reality, swift and coordinated in his movements, especially in speedy tree climbing.

The establishment of an average weight is impossible, but the range is normally between 200 and 500 pounds. The average bear, however, is about 60 inches in length and stands 25 inches high at the shoulder. The Smokies in Carolina occasionally produce an unusually large specimen, scaling as much as 500 pounds, and biologists in New York weighed on tested scales a live-trapped Adirondack black bear that tipped the scales at 605 pounds.

Black bear cup

Because of seasonal fluctuations in the weights of individual bears and variations in the sizes of hides due to shrinkage or stretching, skull length and width are the criteria used to score bears and other carnivores. The skull of the record black bear killed by Ed Strobel in Land O'Lakes, Wisconsin in 1953 measured 13 3/16 by 8 3/4 inches. The black bear is free of markings except for a white patch on the breast. Other identifying characteristics are the short-curved claws of the front paws (which leave a wide five-toed imprint only when he is running) and nearly straight profile of the skull.