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

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Black Bear Senses

• The hearing and smelling senses of Black Bears are well developed - so they hear and smell much better than humans!

•  Vision:  They see in color and have good vision close-up; over two hundred yards is not known

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   Hearing:  A Black bear's hearing exceeds humans with probably twice the sensitivity

•  Sounds:   Black bears grunt when they are relaxed and express a range of emotions:

  • They make a loud blowing noise when they are frightened or clack their teeth
  • A mother black bear may warn her cubs of danger with a loud woof-woof and call them in with a whining or whimpering sound
  • The cry of a young cub in trouble is similar to the crying of a human baby
  
  
  
• Smelling:   Black bears have an extra keen sense of smell so that they can find the food they need:
  
  
  • Their nasal mucosa area is about 100 times larger than in humans
  • With their big noses they can smell a meal more than 1 km away
  • A startled animal will usually attempt to get downwind from an intruder and make an identification by smell
  • A black bear may stand on its hind legs with its nose in the air and scent the wind for any delectable odours

Source:  Bears In BC - Hinterland

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