The American Black Bear lives in Maine. It is usually black with a tan muzzle and a white patch on its chest.

The Black Bear has small, round ears, and inch long claws on its feet. A grown bear stands about three feet from its’ shoulder to feet and is 4-6 feet long. Males can be as large as 600 pounds.

The Black Bear lives in woods and meadows. It needs bushes and plants for protection and food. It can be in mountain, swamps and forests.

Black Bears are omnivores. They eat twigs, buds, leaves, nuts, roots, fruit, corn and berries. It also eats bees and honey and it tears up rotting logs to get at grubs, beetles and insects. The black bear also catches fish.
A bear can gain 30 pounds a week in the summer. It needs the extra weight to survive in the winter.

A Black Bear goes into hibernation in the winter. It curls up into a ball and places its head between its front paws in a cave, under the roots of a fallen tree, in a crevice, in a hollow tree or logs or in a den it digs out and goes to sleep! During hibernation, the black bear's heart beat slows to save energy.

Black Bears like to be by alone unless the female has cubs. They are crepuscular - active in the early morning and in the evening.

A Black Bear can run up to 30 miles per hour and it is an excellent swimmer. It can also climb trees. The black bear has poor eyesight but it has an excellent sense of hearing and a keen sense of smell.

The enemy of bears is people.