Wild bears can live up to 30 years of age, but typically competition for food and territory is such that their lifespan is much shorter. Weighing less than a pound at birth, the tiny bear cubs grow rapidly, emerging from their dens in March or April weighing as much as 15-20 pounds. 2 or 3 cubs is the normal little for a sow, but sows have been observed with up to 5 or 6 cubs in tow, most likely a result of a natural adoption process. Cubs typically stay with their mother for 3 years, before she drives them away.

Black bears come in a wide variety of colors: Jet black to cinnamon, a steel blue (known as Glacier bears), rust and tan colored bears are common as well. A cousin of the black bear is the Kermode, or 'Spirit' bear of the Pacific Northwest. As a result of these color variations, it can often be difficult to distinguish a black bear from a grizzly. Features to look for are the tell tale shoulder hump of the grizzly, his slightly dished, concave face (as opposed to the longer straight or convex snout of the black bear), less prominent ears, and the long claws of the grizzlies' forepaws.

Both grizzly and black bears occupy a wide variety of habitat: dense forest, high mountain alpine and open tundra. Grizzly bears were found on the Great Plains of the American midwest prior to the arrival of European settlers, but have long since been eradicated. Available food source is a driving factor in the size and density of bear populations in the wild. Bears, both black and brown, are omnivores, and eat a large variety of berries, grasses, roots, bulbs, sedges, nuts, acorns, insects (particularly ants), and fish, as well as small mammals such as ground squirrels, and marmots, when available some larger animals.