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Black Bears The black bear is the smallest North American bear. The adults are usually less than six feet long and stand about two to three feet tall at shoulders. The weight of a black bear varies between 125-500 ponds. They have small eyes and rounded ears. Also their snout is very long. Each paw has five very strong claws, which is used for tearing, digging, and climbing. One single hit from the front paw is enough to kill an adult deer. A black Bear is a true carnivore, but if not prevented the black bear could be a huge problem to humans. A black bear loves to eat fresh leaves, berries, fruits, nuts, roots and also Insects and small mammals. When fall comes near, a black bear must eat large amounts of food in order to gain enough weight to keep them through winter hibernation. During hibernation when a little bit warmer weather comes near the black bear must awaken and take short excursions outdoors, so they can get a drink or some food. This is so the black bear will be able to go back to sleep easier. During hibernation a black bear will stay in a cave or some kind of stone formation. Usually it will be near a creek or stream. The area around the cave will usually have a lot of vegetation. If the cave does not have any water or food around it the black bear will try to find another place to sleep through the winter. That place will have plenty of food and water. During the short excursions outdoors during hibernation the bear looks for replenishments, this is why the bear must be near food and water (Rieffberger 8). A black bear’s habitat usually depends on two factors. One is vegetation and the other is human activity. A black bear usually is not picky about a place to stay if it has got food and is not too close to human activity. A dense forest under story, which includes brushy territory or a lot of downed trees, which fell due to the weather, usually characterizes a black bear’s habitat. Once spring starts coming around, black bears start emerging from their hibernation. They move around the area a lot, because they are looking for a new place which has good cover to stay under and a lot of vegetation a round (Rieffenberger 8). Black bears are becoming more and more of a problem. If people have garbage or food that they have thrown out, a black bear may come and get it. To keep a black bear out of the garbage, you need to get rid of th... ... are calm at most times and are only angered mostly by humans. Black bears usually breed in the spring and the young leave their mothers in the second summer of their life. Because of their endangered species status, the DNR have established sanctuaries protect black bears. In 1944, a black bear season was established. Only during this time could hunters kill black bears. Due to this new protection law, the black bear population began to rise. In the future, it will be a common sight to see a few black bears in your county. Works Cited Houchins, Stephen C, James E. Craft, and Jerry R. Duffield. Procedures for Handling Nuisance Bears. Wildlife Resources Section 1999 How to Avoid Bear Damage and Nuisance Problems. West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. 1996 Rieffenberger, Joseph C. et. al. West Virginia Black Bear. Wildlife Resources Division. 1981 U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. American Black Bear. 1994. 28 October, 1999. http://frogweb.nbii.gov/features/kidscorner/bbear.html/>   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. 1899 Black Bear Hunting Season. Wildlife Resources Section 1999.