Black Bear Biology:  What's Under All That Fur?

Physical Appearance       Paws, Claws & Tracks      Size      Skulls & Humps     Bear Senses      Bear Abilities      Life Cycle

  Source: North American Bear Center

Black Bears Have Specific Characteristics

and these characteristics differentiate them from Grizzlies:

•  Paws 

Black Bear feet are quite different than those of a Grizzly Bear;
their feet differ in the following ways:

	Tops:       Well furred
	Bottom:  Flat-soled making them plantigrade (walk flat-footed)
	Pads:      Naked with no fur
	Toes:       Each foot has five toes

•  Claws 

The claws of Black Bears are: 

	Relatively short and curved
	Very strong and used for digging and tearing out roots, stumps,  and old logs when searching for food

 Source: Hinterland Who's Who

Tracks  Black Bears walk with the entire bottom portion of their feet touching the ground   Click each of the images to see a larger picture of Black Bear tracks:   Right rear track of a Black Bear on top of the right front track     Left front Black Bear track — claws of walking Black Bears show only in soft mud that allows a deeper impression     Running bear in snow

Source:  Bears In BC - Wildlife Research Institute - Hinterland

Black Bear Index

Black Bear Introduction
What Colour Are They?
What's Under All That Fur?
Black Bears In Action
Black Bear Activities
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