Black bears come in more colors than any other North American mammal. They can be black, brown, cinnamon, blond, blue-gray, or white. Glacier Bear with cubs East of the Great Plains, nearly all are black.
These were the first bears early settlers saw, hence the name. The melanin in black fur makes the fur resistant to abrasion in the brushy understory of eastern forests. In forested states.
Black bear sow and cub NPS Black Bears Black bears can be black, brown, blonde, even blue/gray -- as is the case of the rare color phase found in Southeast Alaska called the glacier bear. Black bears normally weigh up to 300 pounds, occasionally up to as much as 600 pounds. Black bears can be identified by their "roman nose" facial profile, flat upper back, and short curved claws.
Black bears. He's a classic male black bear and she's classic female black bear. Now, how to tell the bears apart when they're not standing right next to each other? If you can see their faces, you're halfway there.
Gus has a Roman nose, a raised bridge on his nose, reminiscent of a mustang, the wild horse of the plains. His snout/muzzle is quite brown. Know the Difference Black bears and grizzly bears are difficult to differentiate based on size and color.
And other characteristics such as diet, behavior, and habitat use are even less reliable because black bears and grizzlies eat similar food, display similar behaviors, and occupy much of the same areas in some provinces and states. The claws and nose of this species are black in color and they have small ears and short legs. They are usually larger than other North American bears and can weigh up to 600 pounds or more.
What is the real color of a black bear? Black bears come in more colors than any other North American mammal. In the eastern third of North America, the majority of black bears are a deep black color, and about a quarter of them sport a white chest blaze. The further west you go, the more likely it is you could see brown, cinnamon, tan or blonde black bears.
Glacier Bear Ursus americanus emmonsii Possibly the most impressive color morph of the black bear, is the blue. Two uncommon color phases are discovered in populations that are geographically isolated by mountains in coastal British Columbia and southeast Alaska. On a few islands off the coast of British Columbia, the Kermode bear, a subspecies of the black bear (Ursus americanus kermodei), makes its home.
Finally, there is perhaps most mysterious black bear of all: the "blue bear" or "glacier bear" of Southeast Alaska. Glacier bears really have a bluish gray tint, varying from subtle to astonishing. This is not an easy color phase to see, even in the right habitat, which most sources place within a 100-mile radius of Yakutat, Alaska.
Other color phases are white and bluish-gray as shown in the page on color phases. Individual black bears can be recognized by: the muzzle color and pattern of black, brown, and blond fur the shape and shade of brown of their eyebrow patches, if present the shape and extent of white chest patches, if present.