American Black Bears

The common name for a medium sized bear in North America is the American Black Bear. The American Black Bear can be identified by a white, star-shaped mark on the chest it often has. The color of the bear ranges from black to brown, cinnamon, beige, and even pure white. The weight of the bears vary from male to female. Males usually weigh about 290 lb and females only weigh 90 lb. Some males can weigh up …

…as much as 45lb and gain up 5lb in body weight per day in preparation for winter hibernation. They American Black Bear is protected in a number of ways including hunting the bear. While it is legal to hunt the black bear in the state of Michigan, it is hard to get a license to kill the bear. A limited amount of tags are given out each year to hunters to kill a black bear.