Activities
- On line Discovery Challenge: What are all the reasons the Black Bear has different colors? Write down ideas you and your family may have about a bear’s color. Then look up the reasons.
- Support Earth Day Activity: Find something you can do to support the environment. Look around the house and see if there is something that is being thrown away and figure out how to reuse it.
Vocabulary Words
- American Black Bear – the smallest and most widely distributed bear in North America.
- Omnivore – an animal or person that eats food of both plant and animal origin.
- Hibernation – a way an animal conserves energy to survive cold weather conditions and lack of food.
Fun Facts
- 90% of a Black Bear’s diet is insects, berries, grasses and roots. The bear has curved claws to help dig their food out of the ground.
- Black Bears slow-down in the winter, but do not truly hibernate or “sleep” through the winter.
- Black Bears live 20 years on average, and grow up to 6 feet long and weigh 200-600 pounds.
- A Black Bear’s color can be black, brown, cinnamon, blue-gray, blond (light brown), or white.
- Black Bears have a great sense of smell and hearing. Do not put anything out that bears will consider as food and start becoming a nuisance.