The American black bear is usually black, but their are a variety of color phases that include brown, cinnamon, beige, and even a blue-white color.
Black bears have short curved claws and lack a shoulder hump.
These characteristics help distinguish them from the brown bear. The black bear lives in variety of areas throughout North America with an estimated population of between 400,000 and 750,000. The range of the black bear extends from the northern tree limit of the Arctic, through most of Canada and the United States, to the mountains of northwestern Mexico. The black bear prefers forests with occasional open areas or meadows. They live in all the provinces and territories of Canada as well as in 32 American states.