This text courtesy the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Description Black bears are the smallest of the North American bears. Adult bears are about two to three feet tall at the shoulders and measure about five feet from nose to tail.
Males are larger than females.
An average adult male in spring weighs about 180 to 200 pounds. They are considerably heavier in the fall prior to hibernation. Black bears are most easily distinguished from brown bears by their straight face profile, lack of shoulder hump, and sharply curved claws which are seldom over 1.5 inches long. Black bears have outstanding noses and will usually smell you before you see them. Habitat Black bears inhabit most of the forested areas of Alaska, except some of the large islands in the Gulf of Alaska and Southeast Alaska.