Luxor Creek Outfitters - British Columbia Big Game Hunts & Guide Outfitting

(Ursus americanus)

The earliest ancestors of the modern bears we know today, were dog-like in ap-
pearance and had long tails. Indeed, bears and dogs both evolved from one common ancestor, the Miacidae, which were small, tree-climbing animals that lived around 50 million years ago.

The black bear is the most populous and successful of North American bears, with an estimated population of 450,000 animals across Canada and the United States. They are numerous enough to justify hunting seasons in about 23 states and the Canadian provinces every year, and can put up with an annual hunting toll of around 30,000 without any impact on their population. This remarkable surviv-
ability is a direct result of the black bear's wide ranging tastes in food as well as its ability to adapt and thrive in almost any

kind of forest habitat. Black bears prefer to inhabit mainly forested areas, swamps, bogs and thickets, but they are often found on tundra and mountainous ranges. Their range spreads from Mexico all the way to the tundra of Canada.

Black bears are known for their thick coats, flat-footed gaits, their keen sense of smell, as well as for their strong claws and shearing teeth. Although they can be clumsy and haphazard when walking, they are able to run at speeds of up to 30mph, scale any trees stout enough to support their weight with agility and speed, and swim quite well against strong river currents or across lakes. It is theorized that their exceptional tree-climbing ability may have resulted from a vulnerability in the past, when they evolved alongside the giant bears and canids of the Pleistocene. The black bear's skillful climbing might be a protective strategy that was developed in that era. In the final analysis, the black bear is an agile, powerful, and athletic animal.

Black bears have been deemed to be extraordinarily intelligent by animal psychologists. They are able to store and recall informa-
tion, as well as remember the locations of favorite feeding places. There is strong evidence that beyond intelligence, black bears might also have a built-in "homing" ability as they have been observed to find their way back to a specific area, even when physically moved and taken far away from it.

An old Chippewa Indian saying held that "nothing has eyes like an eagle, ears like a deer, or the nose of a bear." This is an abso-
lute fact. While the vision of the black bear is fair and its hearing is excellent, the sense of smell is far beyond human comprehen-
sion. Black bears rely on this ability to locate food, even from great distances.

Aside from wolves, no other North American big game animal has as many different colored coats as the black bear. In the West, there are dark brown, light brown, cinnamon and even rare blonde bears, but the solid black coat is the most common. On Princess Royal Island and the adjacent British Columbia coastline, a small population of pure white bears have been seen to live among

the darker black varieties. The pelage of the black bear consists of predominantly black, dense, course hair with a cinnamon-brown muzzle and a white "v" marking on the chest. The coat protects the black bear through the insulation of two types of body hair. The soft, dense, under-layer of fur serves as the main insulator against the cold. The longer and courser outer guard hair further insulates, but also repels water. By Fall, the pelage is sleek, heavy and dense to protect the black bear through winter hibernation. When the animal emerges from its winter sleep in the spring, it is generally thin from burning its fat reserves over the winter, but the dark fur is rich, thick and shiny. . . although the winter coat is soon shed. By late summer, a new coat will have fully replaced the old.

Boars are generally 4.5 to 5.9 feet in length, and 249 to 595 pounds in weight. Sows are 3.9 to 4.9 feet in length, and weigh in at 203-449 pounds. A few black bears have reached tremendous size, weighing as much as 600-700 pounds. Black bears reach maturity at five to six years with an average lifespan of ten years in the wild, although they can live 25 to 30 years.

The secret of the black bear's success and widespread population is its omnivorous diet, which consists of wild berries, fruits, nuts, twigs, leaves, roots, tubers, insects, honey, small and juvenile mammals, carrion, and even human groceries and garbage. A few bears have even specialized in hunting small game and fawns, and fish for spawning salmon in the rivers of the Pacific Northwest. Indeed, the black bear is the most omnivorous of all bear and carnivore species in North America. About 75% of the food consumed by black bears is vegetable and plant matter. Because of this, the black bear is not dependant on the availability of big game,

with the direct result that forest ranges are able to support a much more dense population of black bears than other carnivores. The black bear is primarily nocturnal, and will begin searching for food at dusk. Throughout the late summer and fall, they concentrate on accumulating sufficient fat to support them through their winter hibernation period. Black bears will typically gorge themselves during the early mornings and evenings, and then find a nearby shaded area to sleep it off. When food is scarce, they will travel far more widely and feed anytime food is available, day or night.

The hibernation of the black bear is possible due to a re-
duced metabolic rate that allows the bear to burn less fuel

when dormant than when the animal is active. Throughout the winter hibernation period, the black bear may burn off as much as 40% of the accumulated autumn body weight.

Black bears generally begin breeding between 3.5 and 5 years, with sows producing two cubs every other year. Hollow trees, excavated holes lined with plants and vegetation, or sheltered caves serve as the common dens for these bears. Black bear cubs weigh less than a pound, and are blind and helpless when they are born in the den in mid-winter.

Aside from man, the black bear has few natural enemies, although grizzlies have been seen to charge and kill them on occasion. Gray wolves will also prey on weakened or aging adults and cubs.

Solitary in nature, black bears will mark their territories with bodily excretions, and produce deep claw marks high on scattered trees, which is believed to broadcast their size and strength. Black bears are usually not at all sociable with other members of their species, except during the breeding season, or when feeding together at trash dumps. While black bears tend to be shy around man, there are rare occurrences where they have attacked and preyed upon them. When the black bear is going to attack, it will usually snort, snap its teeth, extend its lips and begin moving in lunging motions. To threaten their own species, these animals engage in a wide range of vocalizations, moaning, teeth clicking and offensive posturing.

At Luxor Creek Outfitters, black bears can be hunted in both the spring and fall. Spring is usually recommended as the coat is often better. The hunting technique is similar to the Grizzly, involving the watching of cut blocks and open avalanche chutes. Due to the high number of black bears in the area, chances are excellent for a successful ending of your bear hunt.