Lesson 7:Black Bears

Getting to Know Black Bears
Black bears are the smallest bears in North
America. They usually weigh about 150 to 500
pounds. Grizzly bears and polar bears are much
bigger. They can be as much as 1,500 pounds.
Thousands of years ago, even larger animals
lived on Earth. There were short-faced bears,
saber-toothed cats, and others. Black bears were
too small to fight these big animals.
Many of these large animals lived on the
grassy plains. So black bears stayed in the woods.
Curved claws helped them climb trees to escape
danger. Black bears learned to eat plant foods since
larger animals took most of the prey. Because of
this history, black bears are still shy today. They
would rather run away from danger than fight.
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