Black bears are an important and exciting part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The black bear (Ursus americanus) is the only species of bear found in Michigan. What to do if you see a bear. Don't feed the bears! Protecting your food. Bears are active day and night and spend much of their time searching for food. They are most active during early morning and late evening hours in the spring and summer. They are omnivores and their natural diet closely follows the seasons: they can be found eating grasses in meadows during spring, ants, termites, grubs, and berries in summer, and in autumn, acorns provide abundant energy to prepare bears for hibernation. Bears are opportunists and will eat carrion, fawns, or other small mammals if the opportunity presents itself. In Michigan, most black bears have black or extremely dark brown fur. Other color variations, including brown, cinnamon, grayish-blue and blonde, are found mostly in western North America. Average adult black bears stand less than three feet tall at the shoulder when on all fours and are approximately three to five feet in length. Males are typically larger than females. Adult female black bears weigh approximately 90 to 300 pounds, and adult males weigh about 130 to 500 pounds. Black bears are relatively long-lived. In Michigan, black bears have been known to live to be over 30 years of age. Most recorded deaths in Michigan are from hunting or vehicle collisions. Black bears are solitary animals, with the exception of females accompanied by cubs or yearlings and during the breeding season, when mature males and females can be seen together.
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