The American black bear is one of the largest and heaviest wild mammals in Missouri. It has a long muzzle with a straight facial profile; rounded, erect ears; rather short, stout legs; and a very short tail practically concealed in the long, heavy fur. The claws are short and sharp, enabling bears to climb trees.
Typically, the fur is predominantly black with the muzzle brown, and occasionally there is a white patch on the chest. In Missouri, the fur color may be blonde, reddish brown, dark brown, or black.
The sexes look much alike, though females are usually smaller than males.
Black bears are usually silent but can make a variety of sounds. they may grunt, mumble, squeak, roar, huff, bellow, hum, moan, or purr.
Total length: 46–78 inches; tail length: 4–5 inches; weight: 86–600 pounds.
Most black bears in Missouri live south of the Missouri River, but individuals have been seen as far north as the Iowa border. Black bears are the only bear species found in Missouri.
Habitat and Conservation
Black bears typically live in heavily wooded areas. In winter they den in hollow trees, caves, excavated hollows in the ground, brush piles, or other natural shelters. In summer they sleep in trees or on the ground.
Once thought to be extirpated from Missouri, the American black bear population has grown and expanded to the point that a highly regulated hunting season was established. Consult the current Wildlife Code of Missouri for details.
Food
Black bears are omnivores that eat a variety of both plant and animal-based foods. The diet is influenced by the seasonal availability of different foods. In spring, for example, bears will primarily eat grasses and other nonwoody plants, but in summer and late summer they shift to eating more fruits, such as raspberries and persimmons; in late fall, they shift to hard mast such as acorns (an important food as they prepare for winter). Off and on throughout the year, they eat ants, bees and bee honey, crickets and grasshoppers, the inner bark and roots of trees, fish, frogs, small rodents, fawns, bird eggs, and many kinds of carrion.
Status
Formerly a Missouri species of conservation concern.
Black bears used to be abundant in the state but had become rare by 1850. By 1931, they were thought to have been extirpated. In 1958, Arkansas began reintroducing bears into that state, and sightings in Missouri increased soon after. Starting in the early 2000s, bear numbers noticeably increased, and a population study was started in 2010. The study revealed that Missouri's bear population at that time was around 300 bears. Also, genetic work from the study found that in south-central Missouri (Webster and Douglas counties), a small remnant of that region's historical bear populations still existed, in addition to the bears that naturally expanded into Missouri from Arkansas, suggesting that bears had never been completely extirpated from the state.
Missouri's black bear population continues to grow and expand across Missouri. Starting in 2021, a highly regulated hunting season was established to allow a limited number of hunters the opportunity to harvest a bear while still allowing the bear populations to grow annually.
Life Cycle
Mating is in late May through June, but the development of eggs is arrested for 6 or 7 months. After this developmental hiatus (called delayed implantation), the eggs continue development about the time that bears enter hibernation, in October or November. Young are born in late January or February — while the mother is still hibernating. Black bears have 1 to 4 cubs a year, but the average is 2 cubs. Winter inactivity usually extends into April, when bears leave their winter quarters and feed heavily. Cubs stay with the mother through the summer and usually den with her the next winter. After emerging from their dens, the females leave their yearling cubs and seek a mate.
Control
Human Connections
In the past, bear meat provided considerable food for Native Americans and white settlers, and bear fat was valuable for numerous uses. Bear fur was used for bedding, coats, and rugs.
Reintroduction efforts in Arkansas have increased bear numbers in our state.
Because a bear can become a danger when it learns to associate humans with food, it is important to keep them wild.
Bears have played major roles in American frontier folklore and literature. They are important symbolically and spiritually among Native American people.
Ecosystem Connections
Bears feed on smaller animals and thus keep their populations in check; they also kill old, injured, sick animals unfit to survive. As scavengers, they eat carrion and therefore help clean the woods.
Bears also consume a lot of fruit, and through their droppings they disperse seeds away from the parent plants.
When they break up fallen logs in search of insects, bears speed up the decomposition process.
Signs and Tracks
Front track:
- 3¾ inches long; size varies greatly between young and older individuals
- 5 toes
- Claws often do not show
- The separate heel pad sometimes doesn’t show.
Hind track:
- 8 inches long; size varies greatly between young and older individuals
- 5 toes, but smallest (inside) toe may not register
- The smallest toe is the one on the inside (analogous to our big toe), and it sometimes doesn’t leave a print.
- Often described as looking like the prints of a person wearing moccasins.
Other notes:
- Bears are becoming increasingly common in Missouri and are expanding their range. They are more common in the southern third of the state and generally prefer heavily wooded areas.
- The overall large size is perhaps the most important character for identification.
- The claws often leave marks in soft substrates.
- Distance between strides is 1 foot (walking); 3 feet (running).
- Pattern varies; bears can shuffle, walk, run, and gallop.
- Bears leave several distinctive marks on trees.
