Black Bear
Born in a den in mid winter, tiny 14-20 cm long bear cubs weigh only about 300 grams or so. By the time they reach maturity males (also called boars) can weigh well over 200 Kilograms and be 2 meters long.
Bear cubs are usually born with one or two siblings but as many as five cubs have been recorded with a single mother (also called a sow). Cubs stay with their mother for a year or more which explains why sows only breed every two years. Black bears can live up to 25 years in captivity but in the wild their lifespan averages about 10 years.
Bears will eat nearly anything edible as they have a voracious appetite. Plants, insects-especially ants and grubs, leaves and buds of aspen trees, berries and nuts, fish, birds’ eggs and carrion all make up the bear’s diet. Even though they are called black bears, their colour can range from black to brown, blonde, cinnamon to almost pure white.
The black bear’s scientific name is Ursus americanos.
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