Bear

Page 74
He could do nothing, think nothing. His tongue, stained with berry juice, stuck to the roof of his mouth and he stared at the bear. It was black, with a cinnamon-colored nose, not twenty feet from him and big. No, huge. It was all black fur and huge. He had seen one in the zoo in the city once, a black bear, but it had been from India or somewhere. This one was wild, and much bigger than the one in the zoo and it was right there.

     Right there.

     The sun caught the ends of the hairs along his back. Shining black and silky the bear stood on its hind legs, half up, and studied Brian, just studied him, then lowered itself and moved slowly to the left, eating berries as it rolled along, wuffling and delicately using its mouth to lift each berry from the stem, and in seconds it was gone.

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     The American black bear is medium sized. It can be found in many colors from black to chocolate brown, or from cinnamon brown to a pale blue. They have lighter fur on their chests and a brown muzzle. Black bears weigh between 130 to 660 pounds and can be 50 to 75 inches long. Their feet end with strong curved claws. The black bear has poor eyesight.

     The black bear lives in the United States, Canada, and in Northern Mexico. They would rather live in altitudes of 6500 feet or higher. They live away from grizzly bears.

     The black bear walks through the woods looking for food. Bears eat ants, insects, salmon or trout, bark, plants, roots and berries. Seventy-five percent of their diet is vegetables including berries, flowers, grass, roots, and nuts. Fifteen percent of their diet is decaying animals or fish. Another ten percent of their diet is insects an small mammals. Black bears love sweet ripe corn and honey.

     During the winter months bears heart rate slows so they can hibernate. Bears will wake up if the weather is warm or they are disturbed.

     The black bear has few enemies. They fear the grizzly bear the most.