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Chapter 5 - Remarkable Adaptations of the American Black Bear Help Explain Why it is the Most Common Bear: A Long-Term Study from the Center of its Range

from Part I - Systematics, Ecology, and Behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2020

By
David L. Garshelis ,
Karen V. Noyce ,
Mark A. Ditmer ,
Pamela L. Coy ,
Andrew N. Tri ,
Timothy G. Laske  and
Paul A. Iaizzo
Edited by
Vincenzo Penteriani  and
Mario Melletti
Vincenzo Penteriani
Affiliation:
Spanish Council of Scientific Research (CSIC)
Mario Melletti
Affiliation:
WPSG (Wild Pig Specialist Group) IUCN SSC
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Summary

American black bears (Ursus americanus) are by far the most abundant species of bear, numbering more than twice that of all other bear species combined. Many US states share this history of black bear decline and resurgence, and today have burgeoning bear populations. To a large extent, the comeback of this species has been a consequence of restrictions on killing, and a fundamental change in how the public perceives and reacts to black bears. However, the success of this species is also due to its biological adaptiveness – its ability to live in a vast array of habitats, to adapt to radically variable food conditions, and to tolerate the presence of people and the changes they have imposed on the landscape. This chapter highlights the adaptability of the black bear using an extensive and diverse data set spanning 38 years. We explore reasons for their commonness, using a long-term case study from near the geographic center of this species’ range: Minnesota, USA.

Keywords

American black bearadaptationNorth AmericaMinnesotabear abundancedistribution
Type
Chapter
Information
Bears of the World
Ecology, Conservation and Management
 , pp. 53 - 62
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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References

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