Our Livuii; Ri'soiincs — Maimncis 



101 



Black Bear Survey Data 



Information on the distribution and status of 

 black bears in North America came from sever- 

 al unpublished reports and scientific publica- 

 tions. Tntjfu- USA (McCracken et al. 1995) 

 reports periodically on the status of black bears 

 in North America. Two reports on the status and 

 conservation of the bears of the world were pre- 

 sented at meetings of the International 

 Conference on Bear Research and Management 

 in 1970 and 1989 (Cowan 1972; Senheen 

 1990). Finally, much of the information for this 

 report is from data collected by survey for a 

 report by the International Union for the 

 Conservation of Nature and Natural 

 Resources/Species Survival Commission 

 (lUCN/SSC) Bear Specialist Group (Pelton et 

 al. 1994). 



Range and Status 



Black bears historically ranged over most of 

 the forested regions of North America, includ- 

 ing all Canadian provinces, Alaska, all states in 

 the conterminous United States, and significant 

 portions of northern Mexico (Hall 1981; Fig. 1 ). 

 Their current distribution is restricted to rela- 

 tively undisturbed forested regions (Pelton 

 1982; Pelton et al. 1994; Fig. 2). Black bears 

 can still be found throughout Canada with the 

 exception of Prince Edward Island (extirpated 

 in 1937), and in at least 40 of the 50 states; their 

 status in Mexico is uncertain (Leopold 1959; 

 Fig. 2). 



In the eastern United States black bear range 

 is continuous throughout New England but 

 becomes increasingly fragmented from the mid- 

 Atlantic down through the Southeast (Maehr 



1984). In the Southeast, most populations are 

 now restricted to the Appalachian mountain 

 chain or to coastal areas intemiittently in all 

 states from Virginia to Louisiana (J. Wooding, 

 Florida Freshwater Fish and Game 

 Commission, unpublished data). 



Recently, 1 1 Canadian provinces and territo- 

 ries reported stable black bear populations, and 

 10 provinces and territories estimated popula- 

 tion sizes totaling about 359,000-373,000 

 (Pelton et al. 1994; McCracken et al. 1995; 

 Table 1 ). Bears are legally harvested in all 

 Canadian provinces and territories; total annual 

 mortality from all sources (e.g., hunting, road 

 kills, nuisance kills) is estimated at more than 

 23.000 (Pelton etal. 1994). 



Fig. 1. Historical distribution of tlie American black bear 

 (modified from Hall 1981). 



■ Stable — East and Northeast: declining — West and Central, 

 "1991 or 1992 estimates from McCracken el al (1995) 



Thirty-eight of 40 states responding to a 

 1993 survey (Pelton et al. 1994) reported stable 

 or increasing populations; only Idaho and New 

 Mexico reported decreasing populations (Table 

 2). Based on data from 38 states, the total pop- 

 ulation estimate for black bears in the United 

 States ranges from about 307,000 to 332,000 

 (excluding South Dakota and Wyoming). Black 

 bears are listed as threatened or endangered in 

 Florida, Louisiana. Mississippi. South Dakota, 



Fig. 2. Present distribution of the 

 American black bear, based on 

 survey responses from provinces 

 and states (Pelton 1994) and 

 research projects in Mexico (D. 

 Doan. Texas A & I University, per- 

 sonal communication). 



Table 1. Population estimates and 

 trends of American black bears in 

 Canada (adapted from Pelton et al. 

 1994). 



