North American Black Bear The black bear, Ursus Americanus, is the smallest of the North American bears, with an average weight of 250 pounds, a normal adult weight of 125-600 pounds and the heaviest weight recorded of 803 pounds. The adult male is generally 33% larger than the female. The height is normally 2.5-3 feet measured from the bottom of the paw flat on the ground to the highest point on the shoulder. The length of a black bear is measured from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail and averages 6 feet. The black bear is thought to have migrated over the Bering Land Bridge some 500,000 years ago from Asia. It is the only bear that is found only in the Americas, and thru its amazing adaptation abilities, it has thrived even near populated areas. A black bear will go to great lengths to avoid contact with humans, but has been known to attack when provoked, and on rare occurrence will even initiate an attack. The black bear walks on the soles of its feet, or plantigrade, and has five toes on each foot complete with strong, curved, non-retractable claws. The bears front claws often measure 1 ¼ inches in length, and are used for defense, digging and climbing trees even as an adult. In addition bears have 42 teeth consisting of 12 incisors, 4 canines, 16 premolars and 10 molars. The canines are long and sharp with flat and broad crowns on molars for grinding. The typical black bear has long black hair covering most of its body, with most bears having a splash of white on the chest. The hair is often light colored on the muzzle and around the eyes. Black bears come in all shades of brown, blonde, smoky-blue and even pure white, and coloration can change with maturation, seasonal shedding and fading and with the intensity of the natural light.