American Black Bear
America’s most widespread bear is often easier to recognize by tracks, clawed logs, and overturned stones than by a direct sighting.
Artwork inspired by Blanche Lazzell
Black bears are not reliably black: coats can be cinnamon, brown, or even pale in western populations. The useful field combination is a straight facial profile, tall pointed ears, no pronounced shoulder hump, and short curved claws suited to climbing. In West Virginia, mast-producing oak and beech forests connect feeding, denning, and seasonal movement.
A bear near a trail is not an invitation to approach. Give it space, keep dogs controlled, secure food and scented items, and never crowd a sow with cubs. Learning the signs—five-toed tracks, berry-filled scat, torn logs, and feeding marks—usually produces a richer and safer encounter than trying to force a photograph.
- Best distinction
- No grizzly-like shoulder hump
- Diet
- Plants, insects, carrion, and animal prey
- West Virginia link
- Official state animal
Quick guide
- Read the silhouette
- Look for tall ears and a straighter face rather than judging coat color.
- Scan the ground
- Tracks, scat, and rolled stones can reveal a bear that has already moved on.
Recognize and observe
- Read the silhouette
- Look for tall ears and a straighter face rather than judging coat color.
- Scan the ground
- Tracks, scat, and rolled stones can reveal a bear that has already moved on.
- Remove the reward
- Store food and trash so the bear does not learn to approach people.
- If one is close
- Stay calm, create distance, and follow current bear-safety guidance.
Good to know
A “black bear” may be brown. Color alone is a poor identification mark, and cubs should never be approached even when the adult is out of view.
Notice these
- No grizzly-like shoulder hump
- Plants, insects, carrion, and animal prey
- Official state animal