American black bear

American black bear Temporal range: 2.6–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Late Pliocene–Holocene
An American black bear in Manitoba's Riding Mountain National Park
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Ursidae
Genus:	Ursus
Species:	U. americanus
Binomial name
Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780
Subspecies
16, see text
American black bear range[1]   Present-day range   Extirpated
Synonyms
Euarctos americanus

The American black bear (Ursus americanus), also known as the black bear, is a species of medium-sized bear endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. The American black bear is an omnivore, with a diet varying greatly depending on season and location. It typically lives in largely forested areas but will leave forests in search of food and is sometimes attracted to human communities due to the immediate availability of food.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the American black bear as a least-concern species because of its widespread distribution and a large population, estimated to be twice that of all other bear species combined. Along with the brown bear (Ursus arctos), it is one of only two modern bear species not considered by the IUCN to be globally threatened with extinction.