Talk:American black bear

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black bear
Black bear some black bear are not all black they can be red
 * ✅ That is included in the article. Tim1357 (talk) 00:09, 30 January 2010 (UTC)

Some sources I may use for editting The IUCN Redlist https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41687/114251609

Animal Diversity Web https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ursus_americanus/

National Geographic https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/a/american-black-bear/

National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/subjects/bears/black-bears.htm

Massachusetts State Website https://www.mass.gov/service-details/learn-about-black-bears

Mass Audubon https://www.massaudubon.org/learn/nature-wildlife/mammals/bears/about

Missouri State Website https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/american-black-bear

International Association for Bear Research and Management https://www.bearbiology.org/bear-species/american-black-bear/

Maine State Website https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/species-information/mammals/bear.html Buttonwood Park Zoo https://www.bpzoo.org/our-animals/mammals/black-bear/ Cox, Daniel J. Black Bear. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1990. ISBN 0877017271 Eastern Bluebird (talk) 19:49, 10 October 2020

Vancouver Island
This image http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_black_bear_1.png is not correct, as it doesn't show Vancouver Island as being part of the black bear's range. Anyone from there will tell you that there are tons of bears on the island. I've seen several myself. The image should be corrected. 207.161.73.136 (talk) 02:46, 2 June 2009 (UTC)
 * ✅ Tim1357 (talk) 00:05, 30 January 2010 (UTC)

Genetics and evolution
I disagree with the opening sentance that ancestors of American black bears resembled the cave bear. Just because fossils show similarities sufficient to conclude an apparant order suggesting evolution from one species to another says nothing about their appearance. There is a 2008 mt DNA publication that seems to correct divergence of subfamily, genus, and species. I'll attempt to edit that update into the current paragraph. Paddling bear (talk) 06:04, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

I read up on the evolution of black bears, and perhaps I've made it too detailed for this page. I like it, but think it should be moved down, perhaps to the bottom. If so, I'd bump Subspp. to a section header, rename this section just Evolution and move to just above references. Any thoughts? Also, I cut this out “(the other species evolved from U. abstrusus in Asia),” because different published paleotology papers have said both U. abstursus and U. minimus as origins. Since U. abstrusus is oldest in N.A. but also found in Europe and Asia, while U. Minimus is not found in N.A. I was tempted to put that in, but then decided this debate was really beyond the black bear page.Paddling bear (talk) 16:20, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

Endangerment?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/11/photogalleries/bear-pictures/photo8.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.186.150.94 (talk) 20:09, 6 February 2010 (UTC)

subspecies
I don't understand the change to subspp table "Florida, southern Georgia, and Alabama. Threatened in Florida as the Florida Black Bear (state list)." The trinomial already identifies it as "the Florida black bear" and it's the only black bear in the state, so I don't see why it's needed as part of the threatened list. It'd simplify the table, does it confuse others if it's not specificed? I don't want to hae it edited back and forth though. Paddling bear (talk) 06:44, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

taxonomy
The link for port kennedy improperly links to port kennedy australia, not port kennedy pa. It probably refers to the port kennedy bone cave, a major fossil site. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.62.229.96 (talk) 05:07, 12 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Fixed. Dger (talk) 16:24, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

Picture of bear feces!?!
I noticed the recent addition of the picture of bear poop to the article. Does anyone think it's necessary? A lot of people could be doing a research on bears on Wikipedia and can get really grossed out by the picture of poop. NHRHS2010 | Talk to me  03:01, 13 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Yes, it's necessary. It's not like a cow at a farm. Bears are wild, evasive creatures. If you ever been in the mountains out west, identifying bear scat is a very important skill.   Scientists and trackers will also find interest in the photo.  --CutOffTies (talk) 03:18, 13 October 2010 (UTC)
 * Okay, thanks for letting me know. As a east coast resident, I felt like I had to question about the recent addition to the photo of bear pooh. I also wanted to make sure that the image was not being used for vandalism, because pictures of poop are usually placed on random articles for vandalism purposes (although the bear poop picture was indeed placed in the correct article). NHRHS2010 | Talk to me  05:47, 14 October 2010 (UTC)

Capitalization of Title
Why is the article title "American Black Bear" and not "American black bear"? See | WP: Manual of Style. Bielle (talk) 03:00, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
 * I have waited a month. There have been no comments. I am moving the page to American black bear so that the title comforms with WP:MOS. Bielle (talk) 15:58, 4 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Done, per guidelines at WP:CAPS. ErikHaugen (talk | contribs) 20:14, 6 April 2011 (UTC)

List of fatal bear attacks in North America
If anyone is interested in helping out with this article, please take a look and dive in. I've been adding a lot of references and new entries, and working on copy editing. Also, I'm thinking of renaming the article to make it more accurate. Thanks. --CutOffTies (talk) 21:11, 19 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Renaming to make it more accurate in what respect? Note the preceding section where I have suggested that it should be moved to "American black bear". Bielle (talk) 03:27, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

black bears
what species are the north american black bears — Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.239.97.232 (talk) 06:11, 1 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Pretty sure they're mostly the one described in this article; Ursus americanus. ErikHaugen (talk | contribs) 17:43, 1 June 2011 (UTC)

Black Bear attacks (previously mentioned) and they eat you up?
From what I previously understand, Browns & Grizzly bears will attack and leave. Whereas, black bears will attack you because they are hungry.&nbsp And I just heard the other day, ... and eat you up after they attack you! This would make some sense to the old press story that was published 5-10 years ago in California concerning a couple going out hiking and were never seen again except for some relics (and/or a few bones).

Also, sections for self-protection need to be added to Grizzly and Black Bears as they make no mention of pepper sprays, etc. I have already posted the following within the Brown Bear wikipedia article/discussion:

State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources website states, "Select a gun that will stop a bear (12-gauge shotgun or .300 mag rifle)." — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rogerx (talk • contribs) 08:09, 6 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Attacks on humans are rare, I see no reason to focus on it in a general article about the species. Read Stephen Herrero if you want real information on how to deal with an attack. --CutOffTies (talk) 11:34, 6 June 2011 (UTC)
 * What? OP, please don't post utter garbage like this without being able to cite sources. --RichardMills65 (talk) 16:26, 2 June 2012 (UTC)

Cinnamon bear
Currently, cinnamon bear is a separate page, however after identifying the cinnamon bear as a separate subspecies that article then describes evidence of it being only a common color variation, which seems supported by information in the pelage section in this article. Should cinnamon bear be merged in here? ENeville (talk) 14:22, 5 May 2012 (UTC)

Since other bear subspecies continue to warrant their own page I can't see any justification for merging it. Penfolderoldo (talk) 13:11, 10 May 2012 (UTC)
 * I think ENeville's question is: is it really a separate subspecies? ErikHaugen (talk &#124; contribs) 20:27, 10 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Indeed. The information is a little confusing currently, which is an issue itself. ENeville (talk) 14:59, 12 May 2012 (UTC)

Unless you have real documentation somewhere that a cinnamon colored bear is a subspecies, than its not. Black, Cinnamon, Chocolate, and Blonde Black Bears all show up on the same baited stands in Manitoba. Sometimes on the same day. For that matter a simple google of cinnamon and black bear cubs brought up several pics of mom's and cubs that were of mixed colors. http://www.arkive.org/american-black-bear/ursus-americanus/image-G57645.html. Does this not make them more akin to a dog having several different colored pups than a subspecies? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.202.96.114 (talk) 03:18, 4 June 2012 (UTC)

Cinnamon Bear II
As the Cinnamon bear page says, "The subspecies was given the designation because the lighter color phase is more common here than in other areas." This means that, although cinnamon coloring is a color morph and individual cinnamon bears may have black or other colored family members, the bears in the stated area were given the subspecific name of cinnamon bear because the coloration was MORE COMMON here. What might help is to have a citation for this sentence (Hall 1981 mammals of the world has a list of subspecies and a map of their ranges).


 * Should we add this information to the article? 173.88.246.138 (talk) 03:05, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

typo
under "dietary habits" it reads:

"This is believed to be is due to a paucity of edible plant life in this sub-Arctic region and a local lack of competing large carnivores (including other bear species).[53]"

since the article is locked, i can not delete the superfluous "is" - maybe someone else could... (this sentence is located approx. in the last third of the section.)  (This unsigned edit, 1 February 2013, was by 96.63.2.100. )


 * I searched the article for "to be is due" and it's not found. It's apparently been fixed, thanks.  --Hordaland (talk) 09:36, 9 August 2014 (UTC)

South America?
The article Bear says that there are bears in South America. Is there an article showing where in South America, or any other information about them? There should either be articles like North American bears and South American bears, or this article should cover both? Thanks, Hordaland (talk) 09:34, 9 August 2014 (UTC)
 * This article is about a single species of bear, the American black bear, which only ranges into Mexico, so this article can't cover both without losing it's focus. The bear species in South America is the spectacled bear. There are only 8 species of bear, so it seems the better fix is to put links to those pages instead of creating new pages by continent.Paddling bear (talk) 20:17, 22 October 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Attempted to fix sourcing for http://www.grizzlybear.org/bearbook/american_black_bear.htm
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Hibernation Physiology
Hello all! ->Sources/ Topics
 * I am a student in a physiology class at the University of Connecticut, for my final project I am adding relevant physiology to this species account. Below I have listed 4 sources I plan on using for my addition on Hibernation physiology. Next to each course I listed a the topic in which I am relating it to. Please feel free to contact me and critique/edit my additions.

Metabolic Suppression

Muscle mass conservation

Bone Mass/structural conservation

Wound healing

Thank you! Altermattk (talk) 02:47, 25 April 2016 (UTC)


 * I’m not sure you posted this in the right place. This is the place to discuss improvements to the “American black bear” article on Wikipedia. I don’t know what you are referring to by “this species account” and “next to each course”. I don’t understand at all “listed a the topic in which I am relating it to.” In case you did mean to post this to the “American black bear” article discussion, I say: If your edits are too expansive on the topic of hibernation physiology, they may be out of place here. It's good that you are consulting with other editors before attempting improvements. Willondon (talk) 04:19, 25 April 2016 (UTC)

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External links modified
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Semi-protected edit request on 30 November 2017_Please add this new section under the "Hibernation" section
Denning Ecology in southwest Virginia While hibernating, black bears will types of den in which to spend the winter. These dens range from tree and ground dens to rock cavities and brush piles. A study completed in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests found that tree dens (primarily Chestnut Oak, Red Oak and Tulip Poplar) were used over 40% of the time and rock cavities over 30% of the time for hibernation. (Pg. 53)

Den types can vary geographically, with tree dens, rock cavities and excavations being used throughout many populations. Tree dens are used more often because they offer greater protection from predators, especially for a female with cubs or yearlings. (Pg. 59)

It is possible that den reuse is related to types of dens in the area. The same study in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests found that only tree dens were reused in the northern portion of the parks, while in the southern portions, only a rock cavity was reused. In all cases of reuse in the study, dens were reused by the same bear. (Pg. 60)

Wagner528 (talk) 12:29, 30 November 2017 (UTC) Wagner528 (talk) 12:29, 30 November 2017 (UTC)
 * ❌. I'm not comfortable adding this because it's a big addition, it's obviously the result of a lot of work on your part, and you should get credit for it.


 * You're on your way to being able to edit this article yourself. You've registered an account, which is the biggest step. Next, your account needs to be four days old and you have to have ten edits. Right now, you're at just over two days with six edits. The idea is, if you spend these days feeling your way around, editing this and that, and figuring out through experience how Wikipedia works, you'll be perfectly positioned to make an edit like this once you're able. So would you mind doing that? Find an unprotected article that needs work, contribute a little bit, and learn some new things? Once you're autoconfirmed, you can add this section and your username will be in the edit history next to your edit.  City O f  Silver  16:49, 1 December 2017 (UTC)

Vandalism
The first sentence reads "The American anus bear (Ursus americanus) or simply bear, is a medium-sized bear pandemic to South America." This looks like vandalism to me. I believe it should read "the American black bear (Ursus americanus) or simply bear, is a medium-sized bear endemic to North America. Citizen127 (talk) 02:05, 30 December 2021 (UTC)

Errors in the second paragraph
The second paragraph has typographical, grammatical, and logical errors. "The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the American blue bear. due to its widespread distribution and a large population estimated to be twice that of all other black bear Along with the brown bear (Ursus arctos), it is one of only two modern bear species not considered by the IUCN to be globally threatened with extinction." The only other bear species commonly referred to as "black bear" is the asian black bear and there doesn't seem to be any reliable global estimate of its population, so I think the following would be more correct: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the American black bear as a species of least concern due to its widespread distribution and large population. It is one of only two modern bear species, along with the brown bear (Ursus arctos), not considered by the IUCN to be globally threatened with extinction. Citizen127 (talk) 02:58, 30 December 2021 (UTC)

Black bear
Why are you calling it an "American Black Bear" when it's mostly in Canada? Kevinwolfenden (talk) 07:03, 14 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Because that's what it's called in all the cited sources, and we can't just make up our own names. If reliable sources start using a different name (unlikely, but you never know) then, of course, this will be amended. But not until then. Unless you're suggesting it should simply be "black bear". We can't do that because it cause confusion with the Asian black bear. All sources that need to distinguish the two (as we do) use "American black bear" for the one that's not Asian. Anaxial (talk) 18:48, 14 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Additionally, because both Canada and the United States are both in the northern portion of the Americas. - UtherSRG (talk) 19:52, 14 February 2023 (UTC)

Baribal
There's been some edit warring about whether to include the name "baribal". Currently the article says "known as the black bear or sometimes in European languages baribal" which seems odd to me, first because it doesn't identify these "European languages" but more importantly because every animal obviously has different names in different languages. This is the English Wikipedia, and we should use names which are used in English. We generally don't list foreign terms for the topic which are not commonly used in English. "Baribal" does not appear in the Oxford English Dictionary, the Cambridge Dictionary, the Collins Dictionary, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary or the Britannica Dictionary. A Google search for "baribal" turns up few if any English uses of the term. I don't see a good reason to include it in this article. CodeTalker (talk) 17:35, 5 June 2023 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure I see the point of including it in the lede, either. Although, to answer the question as to the identity of the "European languages" referered to it's at least true of French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, and Polish, (according to the wiki pages in those languages) which I guess would be a few too many to list. Anaxial (talk) 18:09, 5 June 2023 (UTC)

Hybrid image is maybe OR?
There is a picture of a bear in the hybrid section that is captioned A possible American black bear-grizzly bear hybrid in the Yukon Territory, Canada. Is there any actual proof or evidence that this is a hybrid between the two species? The description sounds like original research, as well as the description at the image file at the Commons: ''Made this encounter this past summer in Yukon Territory while driving between Teslin Lake and Rest Area on Liard River. Thought this picture of this cross between blackbear and grizzly is much better than those stuffed dusty animals shown on your 'Ursid hybrid' page.'' Joyous! Noise! 23:11, 6 August 2023 (UTC)

Patrice Miller
The death of Patrice Miller (by a bear repeatedly targeting her home) should probably be added.

I can't do it reliably myself due to device limitations. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:23C6:9605:1801:7C2B:5F67:C614:E225 (talk) 18:06, 17 June 2024 (UTC)


 * You came to the wrong page...and had that been added it would most likely be reverted for irrelevancy...that should be at List of fatal bear attacks in North America...anyway it was already updated 10 days ago Special:Diff/1227682469 --- Cat12zu3 (talk) 11:34, 18 June 2024 (UTC)