Where does the American black bear live?
The American black bear lives in North America, from northern Canada and Alaska to northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts. It prefers forests and mountains, where it finds food and can hide, but it may venture beyond forest boundaries in search of food. It still occupies much of its original Canadian range, but it has been extirpated from Prince Edward Island since 1937.
What does the American black bear eat?
It is an omnivore, with a diet that varies greatly with season and location. It is the continent's smallest bear, and the most widely distributed. It is sometimes drawn to human settlements because of the easily accessible food there.
Is the American black bear endangered?
No: the IUCN lists it as Least Concern, because it is widespread and its population is large: it is estimated to be twice that of all other bear species combined. In the mid-1990s, surveys counted between 396,000 and 476,000 black bears in seven Canadian provinces, and all provinces reported stable populations during the 2000s. Along with the brown bear, it is one of the two bear species the IUCN does not consider globally threatened with extinction.
