American black bear

American black bear Temporal range: Late Pliocene–Holocene
American black bear in Manitoba's Riding Mountain National Park
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Ursidae
Genus:	Ursus
Species:	U. americanus
Binomial name
Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780
Subspecies
16, see text
American black bear range   Present-day range   Extirpated
Synonyms
Euarctos americanus

The American black bear (Ursus americanus) is North America's smallest and most common species of bear. Black bears usually live in forested areas, but do leave forests in search of food. Sometimes they become attracted to human activity due to a lack of food. The American black bear is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern, because the species has a large global population estimated to be twice that of all other bear species combined. In the past century, only 37 people have been killed by these animals.

American black bears usually hibernate during winter. During this time, the black bear's metabolism and heart rate both decrease in relation to one another. In fact, during hibernation, an American black bear's heart can stop for twenty seconds. The body temperature of black bears also decreases to 31 °C (88 °F) during hibernation. When hibernation is over, the black bear's body temperature returns to normal. Black bears are omnivores (eating both meat and plants). They feed on fish, rodents, rabbits, insects, carrion, fruit, nuts, grass, leaves, honey, deer, and moose calves. Their predators are humans, grizzly bears, and american alligators, while wolves, coyotes, cougars, lynxes, foxes, birds of prey, and even other black bears are predators of black bear cubs.