The American black bear is a species that suffers from many misconceptions about its habits and temperament. When young, people tend to associate black bears with figures such as Smokey the Bear, Winnie-the-Pooh (who was based on a black bear brought to the London Zoo), and the ever-popular teddy bear. As children grow up, their view of the black bear as cute, cuddly, and gentle changes to depict the bear as a savage beast intent on harming all humans. This misconception usually comes from exaggerated stories of campers who had a bear steal their food. In reality, there have only been 36 reported human deaths due to human/bear encounters in the 1900's.

Unfortunately, because of these common misconceptions, very few people care much about the species' survival. In fact, the black bear is only listed on the Endangered Species List because it can sometimes resemble a small grizzly bear. Despite the hundreds of bears killed each year by collisions with cars, loss of habitat, and hunting, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service does not deem this species endangered. The black bear was officially listed back in 1992 as threatened with the note: "similarity in appearance to a threatened taxon." Being listed in that manner gives the bear very little protection from humans.

Currently, almost every state in the United States has a regulated bear-hunting season; however, there are no regulations indicating which bears can be shot. For example, bears that are radio collared and being studied by scientists are still legally permitted to be shot by a hunter. A horrifying example of this was the story of Whiteheart bear. Dr. Lynn Rogers, who had been studying and observing Whiteheart since she was a cub, had been able to gain the bear's trust enough to radio collar her, and place a webcam in her winter den. By having the webcam inside the den with her, he was able to learn a lot about bear hibernation. It is commonly thought that the bears do nothing more than just sleep during the hibernation months, but as Dr. Rogers watched Whiteheart, he learned differently. Whiteheart would move around, and readjust herself to get more comfortable over the winter months. All his research and the potential for more scientific discoveries was cut short one day when while he was following the radio signal from Whiteheart's collar, he found that a hunter had killed her. He asked the hunter why he had killed a radio collared bear, and was met with the reply, "What's the problem? It's legal." Yes, it is still legal, but why? The truth is that very few people want to save a species they view as a threat, so they let hunters continue to decimate the population at will.

Another cause for the decline in population is habitat loss. As more and more people move into bear habitat, human/bear encounters have been increasing. This would not be as big of a problem if people would leave the bears alone as they are usually very timid and shy around humans. What usually ends up happening is that people will try to feed the bear, and when the food source is taken away, the bear naturally reacts with violence.

The main problem is that people are just very uneducated about bears in general. Most think that if they are out camping, a bear will come up, attack them, and eat their kids. In reality, that's not it at all. Black bears eat primarily grasses, nuts, acorns, berries, and occasionally bugs and insects. As humans have been encroaching on their habitat, the bears have also started eating trash left out by people.

Black bears also spend most of their time looking for food, which is most likely how they run into people. They are also opportunistic feeders, as well as curious, and when offered food, they will usually take it without thinking.

Black bears can be found through the United States, and across eastern parts of Canada. Their fur can range in color from black to brown, cinnamon, or even blonde. They weigh between 103-901 lbs. for a male, and 85-520 lbs. for a female. Male and female black bears rarely ever mingle except during mating season, which for most of the population is usually from June through mid-July.

Gestation for this species lasts about 220 days, and birth usually occurs in January or February. Unlike most scientific misconceptions, the baby cubs are cared for by the mother during the hibernation season, and will emerge from the den in the spring. The baby cub is about .5 lbs. at birth, and are usually weaned when they are about 6-8 months old, but will remain with their mother until they are 17 months old. The females will reach sexual maturity at 2-9 years of age, and the males at 3-4 years; however, they will typically only mate every other year.

If left alone, in the wild a black bear can live to be 30 years old, but many do not survive even to their tenth birthday. 90% of black bear deaths after 18 months of age are due to gunshots, trapping, and car accidents. In 2002 alone, over 120 black bears were killed on highways in Florida, and as more and more of their habitat is endangered, more of these deaths will occur.

The future does not look promising for the black bear, especially since so many people still regard the species as a threat to human survival. There are several steps that could be taken to help this species' survival including: outlawing hunting of black bears, formally listing the black bear itself as a threatened species, preserving their habitat, and educating people with the real facts about the bear. If these steps were taken, then the species stands a good chance of survival in the wild; however, if not, there is little hope for this species.