Black bears, who were created to inhabit trees and thick mountain foliage, take advantage of vegetation as an escape from danger. However, a wounded or cornered black bear can be just as fearsome as a grizz. Both the grizzly and black have flat, plantigrade feet with five toes on each foot. Add that fact to having longer back legs and you have an animal that looks very awkward when it walks. The black is slow, but don't count on out running it if you happen to be chased.
Black bears vary in color from black to brown, cinnamon, blue and even white.
A N.C. black bear is usually dark black with a brown muzzle and sometimes a white patch on the upper chest region. The black bear is usually timid. It will run from man. On rare occasions, if forced to fight, it can and will kill. It is found in 24 mountain counties and 28 coastal counties of N.C. Original habitat in N.C. has been reduced from 48,880 sq.