General Information: Black Bears (Ursus americanus) are the smallest North American bear with a head and body length of 5-6 feet and a height of 2-3 feet at the shoulder. Called black bears, these bears range in color from nearly white to red to jet black. The face is narrow, and they do not have a hump on the back between the shoulders.

Taxonomy: Order: Carnivora; Family: Ursidae.

Technical Description: Head and body to 6-ft long, height 3 ft at the shoulder, weight to 500 pounds. Color ranges from white to black, usually with a white spot on the chest. Face quite broad. Claws on front feet to 4-inches long.

Breeding: Breeds during summer, young born mid-winter

Diet: Eats vegetation, bugs, mice, fish, deer, and anything else it can find or catch (for example, backpacker's food).

Range: Black Bears occur throughout northern North America, and southward in the major mountain ranges (Cascade-Sierra Nevada, Rocky Mountains into Mexico, Appalachian Mountains); also in Florida and lower Mississippi River area.

Comments: Bear scat happens in a variety of forms, but most often it is firm and broken into several elongate pieces. Bear scat can also look very much like human scat.

Campers and backpackers in "bear country" must safeguard their food from hungry bears. In some campgrounds, land managers provide food storage lockers that are big enough to hold several ice chests and boxes of food. For backpackers, "bear canisters" provide lightweight protection for food. Here, I put three bear canisters together, then put my pots on top. If a bear knocked over the pots, they would wake me up, and I could chase off the bear.

Bear canisters are useful even when not hiking in bear country. Common Ravens, desert woodrats, deer mice, ground squirrels, and other creatures like backpacker food, so it is a good idea to protect it from all of them.