Pregnant females give birth to 2 to 4 young and stay in the den without eating for the 5 to 6 month period. The Florida black bear is very shy, preferring the thick vegetative cover of forested wetlands such as riverine swamps, cypress swamps, bayheads, and titi shrub thickets. Bears use many of Florida's native plant communities including pine flatwoods, hardwood hammocks and upland sandpine and oak scrub. Bears use these communities for denning and resting sites, movement corridors and sources of food. They particularly enjoy the heart of saw palmetto and cabbage palm.
Bears also feed on many insects such as yellow jackets, termites, ants, and grubs.
Bears have a reputation for liking honey, but actually the bears are attracted to the bee larvae. A male Florida black bear weighs on average 350 lbs and a female 150 lbs. To maintain that weight, bears spend most of their time looking for food or eating. To ensure the bear's survival in Florida, expansive habitat conservation and linkages between habitat areas must be available for this wide-ranging species.