Editing American black bear (section)

=== Hunting ===
{{main|Bear hunting}}

The hunting of American black bears has taken place since the initial [[settlement of the Americas]]. The first piece of evidence dates to a [[Clovis culture|Clovis site]] at [[Lehner Mammoth-Kill Site|Lehner Ranch]], Arizona. Partially [[Calcination|calcined]] teeth of a 3-month old black bear cub came from a roasting pit, suggesting the bear cub was eaten. The surrounding charcoal was dated to the [[Greenlandian|Early Holocene]] (10,940 BP). Black bear remains also appear to be associated with early peoples in [[Tlapacoya (archeological site)|Tlapacoya]], Mexico. Native Americans increasingly utilized black bears during the [[Holocene]], particularly in the late Holocene [[upper Midwest]], e.g., [[Hopewell tradition|Hopewell]] and [[Mississippian culture|Mississippian]] cultures.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Pérez-Crespo |first1=J. |last2=Arroyo-Cabrales |first2=J. E. |last3=Johnson |first3=R. W. |last4=Graham |first4=V. A. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1227719621 |title=North American ursid (mammalia: ursidae) defaunation from Pleistocene to recent |date=2016-01-01 |oclc=1227719621 |access-date=March 2, 2022 |archive-date=March 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303091153/https://search.worldcat.org/title/1227719621 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some Native American tribes,{{which|date=April 2014}} in admiration for the American black bear's intelligence, would decorate the heads of bears they killed with trinkets and place them on blankets. Tobacco smoke would be wafted into the disembodied head's nostrils by the hunter that dealt the killing blow, who would compliment the animal for its courage.<ref name="wood" />{{page needed|date=May 2020}} The [[Gwichʼin|Kutchin]] typically hunted American black bears during their hibernation cycle. Unlike the hunting of hibernating grizzly bears, which was fraught with danger, hibernating American black bears took longer to awaken and hunting them was thus safer and easier.<ref name="kutch" /> During the European colonisation of eastern North America, thousands of bears were hunted for their meat, fat and fur.<ref name="world" />{{page needed|date=May 2020}} [[Theodore Roosevelt]] wrote extensively on black bear hunting in his ''Hunting the Grisly and other sketches'', in which he stated,

{{blockquote|text=in [a black bear] chase there is much excitement, and occasionally a slight spice of danger, just enough to render it attractive; so it has always been eagerly followed.<ref name="TEDDY">{{cite book |author=Roosevelt, Theodore |title=Hunting the Grisly and Other Sketches |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rXzr9PaITD4C&pg=PT33 |year= 2007 |publisher= ReadHowYouWant.com |isbn=978-1-4250-7306-0 |pages=33–}}</ref>}}

He wrote that black bears were difficult to hunt by stalking, due to their habitat preferences, though they were easy to trap. Roosevelt described how, in the southern states, [[Planter class|planters]] regularly hunted bears on horseback with hounds. [[Wade Hampton III|General Wade Hampton]] was known to have been present at 500 successful bear hunts, two-thirds of which he killed personally. He killed 30 or 40 bears with only a knife, which he would use to stab the bears between the shoulder blades while they were distracted by his hounds.<ref name="TEDDY" /> Unless well trained, horses were often useless in bear hunts, as they often bolted when the bears stood their ground.<ref name="wood" />{{page needed|date=May 2020}} In 1799, 192,000 American black bear skins were exported from Quebec. In 1822, 3,000 skins were exported from the [[Hudson's Bay Company]].<ref>[[Charles Frederick Partington|Partington, Charles Frederick]] (1835). ''The British Cyclopædia of Natural History: Combining a Scientific Classification of Animals, Plants, and Minerals'', Vol. 1, Orr & Smith.</ref> In 1992, untanned, fleshed and salted hides were sold for an average of $165.{{sfn|Brown|1993|loc=Ch. "Use of Bears and Bear Parts"}}

In Canada, black bears are considered as both a big game and furbearer species in all provinces, save for New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories, where they are only classed as a big game species. There are around 80,900 licensed bear hunters in Canada. Canadian black bear hunts take place in the fall and spring, and both male and female bears can be legally taken, though some provinces prohibit the hunting of females with cubs, or yearlings.<ref name="plan" />

Currently, 28 of the [[U.S. state]]s have American black bear hunting seasons. Nineteen states require a bear hunting license, with some also requiring a big game license. In eight states, only a big game license is required. Overall, over 481,500 American black bear hunting licenses are sold per year. The hunting methods and seasons vary greatly according to state, with some bear hunting seasons including fall only, spring and fall, or year-round. New Jersey, in November 2010, approved a six-day bear-hunting season in early December 2010 to slow the growth of the population. Bear hunting had been banned in New Jersey for five years before that time.<ref>{{cite web |author=Sciarrino, Robert |url=http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/nj_environmental_comissioner_g.html |title=Black bear hunt gets final approval from Department of Environmental Protection head |work=The Star-Ledger |date=July 21, 2010 |access-date=February 19, 2011 |archive-date=August 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826014842/http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/nj_environmental_comissioner_g.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[Fairleigh Dickinson University]] PublicMind poll found that 53% of New Jersey voters approved of the new season if scientists concluded that bears were leaving their usual habitats and destroying private property.<ref name="fdu Public Approves">{{cite web |url=http://publicmind.fdu.edu/1011bears/ |title=Bear Necessity? Public Approves of Bear Hunt |publisher=Publicmind.fdu.edu |access-date=February 19, 2011 |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629195551/http://publicmind.fdu.edu/1011bears/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Men, older voters and those living in rural areas were more likely to approve of a bear hunting season in New Jersey than women, younger voters and those living in more developed parts of the state.<ref name="fdu Public Approves" /> In the western states, where there are large American black bear populations, there are spring and year-round seasons. Approximately 18,000 American black bears were killed annually in the U.S. between 1988 and 1992. Within this period, annual kills ranged from six bears in South Carolina to 2,232 in Maine.<ref name="plan" /> According to Dwight Schuh in his ''Bowhunter's Encyclopedia'', American black bears are the third most popular quarry of [[Bowhunting|bowhunters]], behind deer and elk.<ref>Schuh, Dwight R. (1992). ''Bowhunter's Encyclopedia'', Stackpole Books, {{ISBN|0-8117-2412-3}}</ref>

==== Meat ====
{{nutritionalvalue | name=American black bear meat | kJ=649 | water=71.20 g | protein=20.10 g | fat=8.30 g | ash=0.40 g | carbs=0.00 g | | iron_mg=7.20 | phosphorus_mg=162 | thiamin_mg=0.160 | riboflavin_mg=0.680 | niacin_mg=3.200 | vitA_ug=78 | right=1 | source_usda=1 }}
Bear meat had historically been held in high esteem among North America's indigenous people and colonists.<ref name="wood" />{{page needed|date=May 2020}} American black bears were the only bear species the Kutchin hunted for their meat, though this constituted only a small part of their diet.<ref name="kutch">Nelson, Richard K. (1986). ''Hunters of the Northern Forest: Designs for Survival Among the Alaskan Kutchin'', University of Chicago Press, {{ISBN|0-226-57181-5}}</ref> According to the second volume of ''[[Frank Forester]]'s Field Sports of the United States, and British Provinces, of North America'':

{{blockquote|text=The flesh of the [black] bear is savoury, but rather luscious, and tastes not unlike [[pork]]. It was once so common an article of food in New-York as to have given the name of ''Bear Market'' to one of the principal markets of the city.|sign=''Frank Forester's Field Sports of the United States, and British Provinces, of North America'', p. 186}}

Theodore Roosevelt likened the flesh of young American black bears to that of pork, and not as coarse or flavorless as the meat of grizzly bears.<ref>Roosevelt, Theodore. ''Hunting Trips of a Ranchman: Hunting Trips on the Prairie and in the Mountains'', Adamant Media Corporation, {{ISBN|1-4212-6647-4}}</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2020}} The most favored cuts of are concentrated in the legs and loins. Meat from the neck, front legs and shoulders is usually ground into minced meat or used for stews and casseroles. Keeping the fat on tends to give the meat a strong flavor. As American black bears can have [[trichinellosis]], cooking temperatures need to be high in order to kill the parasites.<ref name="hunt">Smith, Richard P. (2007). ''Black Bear Hunting'', Stackpole Books, {{ISBN|0-8117-0269-3}}</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2020}}

Bear fat was once valued as a cosmetic article that promoted hair growth and gloss. The fat most favored for this purpose was the hard white fat found in the body's interior. As only a small portion of this fat could be harvested for this purpose, the oil was often mixed with large quantities of hog lard.<ref name="wood" />{{page needed|date=May 2020}} However, [[animal rights]] activism over the last decade{{When|date=July 2021|reason=It's not clear when this was written and therefore which decade this is meant to refer to.}} has slowed the harvest of these animals; therefore the lard from bears has not been used in recent years for the purpose of cosmetics.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}