Despite their name, black bears can be brown, cinnamon or blonde.
Most black bears spend the winter in dens, typically in the base of a rotted fir tree.
Bear cubs are born while their mothers are denning. They emerge to seek sustenance from grasses and tender herbs, and whatever carrion they can find. They rely on meadow plants until berries begin to ripen. Bears are members of the order Carnivora, like their closest relatives, the dogs and raccoons, but contrary to what the name suggests, black bears eat relatively little meat. Occasionally bears do kill deer or eat the carrion left over by other predators such as cougars.