The American Black Bear’s name can give misleading information about it’s physical appearance. The majority of eastern black bears are black, sometimes with a white “v” patch on the throat, and other markings on the chest, but many of the bears in the west are more likely to be brown and coastal areas of Alaska and Canada have bears whose coats are tinged with blue.
Black Bears – Location/RangeThe black bear occupies most of North America from the Mexican plateau to the Arctic treeline in Alaska and Labrador. In Canada the black bear can be located in coniferous, deciduous and mixed forested areas from Newfoundland to British Columbia and can also be found in swamp lands and berry patches, depending on the season.
Black Bears – Habitat/Environment
Black bears range through many different physical landscapes, as long as they have vegetative cover and will roam up to 150 square miles across the land, looking for food. In the winter, bears prefer to be in swampy or coniferous forests because there is a greater chance of finding shelter for the winter. In the spring, bears move towards more deciduous forests and feed off of the leaves that are there and in the late summer and autumn, they will stay closer to pine forests where berry patches can be found.