Little Bear

Little_bear_1

We watched as this little Black bear foraged through the forest nimbley picking Oregon Grape Berries. We did not know Bears ate these little berries but given most of the Choke Cheery bushes had been picked clean this little bear needed to find a few last meals before they retired for the winter and Oregon grape was on the menu that evening.

Ursus americanus: American Black Bear

As demonstrated by the shaded areas in the two range maps below Black Bears, which were once ubiquitous to most of North America, occupy only a small fraction of their historical range.

Due to habitat loss and other human factors Black Bears numbers are currently only a fraction of what they once were.

Historical Range:

Current Range:

Vaughan, M.R., and M.R. Pelton. 1995. Black bears in North America, pages 100-103 in E.T. LaRoe III, ed. Our Living Resources. USDI-NBS, Washington, D.C.

Imagine a time of abundance, no not not all you can eat buffets and free soda refills, but a time where animals we share the planet were more than occasional encounters.