Exploration and Explanation of the American Black Bear: Ursus americanus

Welcome! Black Bear rug, credit to Christina Burkhart        As aspiring biology students, it is our pleasure to present, to one and all, our semester project.  Hours of research and tedious fiddling has produced this wondrous website with its multiple pages for your educational benefit and personal pleasure.  As indicated in the title, we chose our topic as the American Black Bear, which is native not only to Wisconsin, but to the entire North American continent.         A charismatic creature, the American Black Bear is widely known and loved by many.  From Yogi bear to Smokey the bear to being the mascot of schools around the United States and even the teddy bears given to young children, these animals represent various ideas and characteristics.  The most common trait they are associated with may be shyness, but Black Bears are also affiliated with strength, honor, love, and protectiveness. American Black Bear rear paw print in snowy Colorado.  Credit to Dan Brown          Despite being referred to as shy, the increased sightings in areas throughout the United States have augmented interests in studies related to their possible expansion to previously extirpated areas and new management policies to prevent "problem" bears.  One question we may ask is whether or not these increased sightings are due to their expansion, or our expansion.  That could quickly be followed by, what can we do to preserve the integrity of everyone involved with the least amount of damage?  Fortunately, aside from expansion research, there is a multitude of experiments studying every aspect of their life history and, thanks to new technology, molecular traits.  The entirety of incoming information is increasing our understanding of our woodland brethren everyday.           Start clicking, start learning!  Indulge your curiosity and feed your brain with the abundance of information provided in the various pages linked to the left.  Do not forget to learn about other organisms associated with the American Black Bear by clicking on the blue links throughout the site.            Enjoy!           Christina Burkhart & Lauren Kemps To discover other organisms visit MultipleOrganisms.net  Video credits to Dan Brown, avid hunter and owner of Dan's Taxidermy, La Crosse, WI