Editing American black bear (section)

=== Size ===
[[File:Black bear in yellowstone 3.jpg|thumb|A cinnamon-colored American black bear in [[Yellowstone National Park]], the U.S.]]

Adults typically range from {{cvt|120|to|200|cm}} in head-and-body length, and {{cvt|70|to|105|cm}} in shoulder height. Although they are the smallest bear species in [[North America]], large males exceed the size of other bear species, except the brown bear and the polar bear.{{sfn|Brown|1993|loc=Ch. "Bear Anatomy and Physiology"}}

Weight tends to vary according to age, sex, health and season. Seasonal variation in weight is very pronounced: in autumn, their pre-den weight tends to be 30% higher than in spring, when black bears emerge from their dens. Bears on the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] tend to be heavier on average than those on the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]], although they typically follow [[Bergmann's rule]], and bears from the northwest are often slightly heavier than the bears from the southeast. Adult males typically weigh between {{cvt|57|-|250|kg}}, while females weigh 33% less at {{cvt|41|-|170|kg}}.<ref name="Hunter" /><ref name="scorzafava">{{Cite book |publisher=Stackpole Books |title=Radical Bear Hunter |first=Dick |last=Scorzafava |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8117-3418-9}}</ref>

In California, studies indicate that the average mass is {{cvt|86|kg}} in adult males and {{cvt|58|kg}} in adult females.<ref name="Lariviere" /> Adults in [[Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge]] in east-central Alaska were found to average {{cvt|87.3|kg}} in males and {{cvt|63.4|kg}} in females, whereas on [[Kuiu Island]] in southeastern Alaska (where nutritious [[salmon]] are readily available) adults averaged {{cvt|115|kg}}.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://alaska.fws.gov/nwr/yukonflats/pdf/black_bear_monitoring_ursus.pdf |title=Black bear monitoring in eastern interior Alaska |journal=Ursus |volume=13 |issue=69–77 |year=2002 |author1=Bertram, M. R. |author2=Vivion M. T. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041108124729/http://alaska.fws.gov/nwr/yukonflats/pdf/black_bear_monitoring_ursus.pdf |archive-date=November 8, 2004 }}</ref><ref>Peacock, Elizabeth (2004). [http://www.carnivoreconservation.org/files/thesis/peacock_2004_phd.pdf "Population, Genetic and Behavioral Studies of Black Bears ''Ursus americanus'' in Southeast Alaska"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606075229/http://www.carnivoreconservation.org/files/thesis/peacock_2004_phd.pdf |date=June 6, 2013 }}. PhD Thesis, University of Nevada, Reno</ref> In [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]], adult males averaged {{cvt|112|kg}} and adult females averaged {{cvt|47|kg}} per one study.<ref>[http://www.discoverlife.org/nh/tx/Vertebrata/Mammalia/Ursidae/Ursus/americanus/ "''Ursus americanus'' (Pallas); Black Bear"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413151905/http://www.discoverlife.org/nh/tx/Vertebrata/Mammalia/Ursidae/Ursus/americanus/ |date=April 13, 2013 }}. Discoverlife.org. Retrieved December 20, 2012.</ref>

In one of the largest studies on regional body mass, bears in British Columbia averaged {{cvt|73.7|kg}} in 89 females and {{cvt|103.1|kg}} in 243 males.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McLellan |first1=B. N. |title=Implications of a high-energy and low-protein diet on the body composition, fitness, and competitive abilities of black (''Ursus americanus'') and grizzly (''Ursus arctos'') bears |journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology |date=June 2011 |volume=89 |issue=6 |pages=546–558 |id={{Gale|A268310385}} |doi=10.1139/z11-026 |bibcode=2011CaJZ...89..546M }}</ref> In [[Yellowstone National Park]], a study found that adult males averaged {{cvt|119|kg}} and adult females averaged {{cvt|67|kg}}.<ref>Barnes, V. G. and Bray, O. E. (1967) "Population characteristics and activities of black bears in Yellowstone National Park". Final report, Colorado Wildl. Res. Unit, Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins; cited in [http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/bearchar.htm "Characteristics of Black Bears and Grizzly Bears in YNP"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413172239/http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/bearchar.htm |date=April 13, 2013 }}. nps.gov</ref> Black bears in north-central Minnesota averaged {{cvt|70|kg}} in 163 females and {{cvt|125|kg}} in 77 males.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Noyce |first1=Karen V. |last2=Garshelis |first2=David L. |title=Spring Weight Changes in Black Bears in Northcentral Minnesota: The Negative Foraging Period Revisited |journal=Ursus |date=1998 |volume=10 |pages=521–531 |jstor=3873164 }}</ref> In New York, the males average {{cvt|136|kg}} and females {{cvt|72.6|kg}}.<ref>[https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/bears1.pdf ''Black bears in New York State''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111201219/https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/bears1.pdf |date=November 11, 2021 }}. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, page 1. Retrieved November 11, 2021.</ref> It was found in [[Nevada]] and the [[Lake Tahoe]] region that bears closer to urban regions were significantly heavier than their arid-country dwelling counterparts, with males near urban areas averaging {{cvt|138|kg}} against wild-land males which averaged {{cvt|115.5|kg}} whereas peri-urban females averaged {{cvt|97.9|kg}} against the average of {{cvt|65.2|kg}} in wild-land ones.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Beckmann |first1=Jon P. |last2=Berger |first2=Joel |title=Using Black Bears to Test Ideal-Free Distribution Models Experimentally |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |date=30 May 2003 |volume=84 |issue=2 |pages=594–606 |doi=10.1644/1545-1542(2003)084<0594:UBBTTI>2.0.CO;2 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In [[Waterton Lakes National Park]], Alberta, adults averaged {{cvt|125|to|128|kg}}.<ref>Silva, M., & Downing, J. A. (1995). ''CRC handbook of mammalian body masses''. CRC Press.</ref>

The biggest wild American black bear ever recorded was a male from [[New Brunswick]], shot in November 1972, that weighed {{cvt|409|kg}} after it had been dressed, meaning it weighed an estimated {{cvt|500|kg}} in life and measured {{cvt|2.41|m}} long.<ref name="wood">{{Cite book |publisher=Sterling Publishing Co. |title=The Guinness Book of Animal Facts & Feats |first=Gerald |last=Wood |year=1983 |isbn=978-0-85112-235-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessbookofan00wood }}</ref> Another notably outsized wild American black bear, weighing in at {{cvt|408|kg}}, was the cattle-killer shot in December 1921 on the Moqui Reservation in [[Arizona]].<ref name="wood" /> The record-sized American black bear from [[New Jersey]] was shot in [[Morris County, New Jersey|Morris County]] December 2011 and scaled {{cvt|376.5|kg}}.<ref>Stabile, Jim (December 16, 2011) [https://archive.today/20130120084026/http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20111216/NJNEWS/312160008/829-pound-bear-takes-record-N-J-hunt "829-pound bear takes record in N.J. hunt"]. ''Daily Record''</ref> The Pennsylvania state record weighed {{cvt|399|kg}} and was shot in November 2010 in [[Pike County, Pennsylvania|Pike County]].<ref>[http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101119/NEWS/11190341/-1/NEWS01 "Record-busting, 879-pound bear bagged in Poconos"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022004303/http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101119/NEWS/11190341/-1/NEWS01 |date=October 22, 2014 }}. Pocono Record. November 19, 2010. Retrieved 2013-08-19.</ref> The North American Bear Center, located in [[Ely, Minnesota]], is home to the world's largest captive male and female American black bears. Ted, the male, weighed {{cvt|431|-|453.5|kg}} in the fall of 2006.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bear.org/website/the-nabc/meet-our-bears/teds-page.html |title=Meet Our Bears > Ted's Page |publisher=North American Bear Center |last=Rogers |first=Lyn |access-date=February 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217020258/http://www.bear.org/website/the-nabc/meet-our-bears/teds-page.html |archive-date=February 17, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Honey, the female, weighed {{cvt|219.6|kg}} in the fall of 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bear.org/website/the-nabc/meet-our-bears/honeys-page.html |title=Meet Our Bears > Honey's Page |publisher=North American Bear Center |access-date=February 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217020216/http://www.bear.org/website/the-nabc/meet-our-bears/honeys-page.html |archive-date=February 17, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>