black bear

noun

1. a medium-sized North American bear, Ursus (Euarctos ) americanus, relatively common in uninhabited mountainous areas, ranging from light brown to black with a straight brown muzzle: northern populations may be gray to near-white.

black bear

noun

1. a bear, Euarctos (or Ursus ) americanus , inhabiting forests of North America. It is smaller and less ferocious than the brown bear

2. a bear, Selenarctos thibetanus , of central and E Asia, whose coat is black with a pale V-shaped mark on the chest

Word History and Origins

Origin of black bear¹

First recorded in 1735–45

Example Sentences

We passed the camera and transmitter gear which had been set up to observe not only monkeys but black bears, boar and many other wild species in Shennongjia.

From BBC

Yes, I was living in a tent for two weeks, communing with the pine trees and black bears of the Sierra.

From Los Angeles Times

West said Fish and Wildlife was unaware of any male black bears in the Santa Monica Mountains.

From Los Angeles Times

A 2-month-old orphaned black bear cub was rescued from the woods and is being raised by humans dressed as bears at the San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Center.

From Los Angeles Times

California is home to roughly 60,000 black bears, the highest population estimate for anywhere in the contiguous U.S.

From Los Angeles Times