Cinnamon bear
| Cinnamon Bear | |
|---|---|
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| Cinnamon bear in the Zirkel Wilderness, Routt County, Colorado | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Caniformia |
| Family: | Ursidae |
| Genus: | Ursus |
| Species: | U. americanus |
| Subspecies: | U. a. cinnamomum |
| Trinomial name | |
| Ursus americanus cinnamomum Audubon and Bachman, 1854 | |
The cinnamon bear (Ursus americanus cinnamomum) is both a color phase and subspecies of the American black bear, native to central and western areas of the United States and Canada. Established populations are found in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Washington, Manitoba Minnesota, Wisconsin, Wyoming, California, Alberta, and British Columbia.[1][2] They also have been seen in Pennsylvania and New York. The most striking difference between a cinnamon bear and any other black bear is its brown or red-brown fur, reminiscent of cinnamon.[2] The subspecies was given the designation because the lighter color phase is more common there than in other areas.
Description
Like other black bear subspecies, Cinnamon bears are omnivorous. Their diet includes fruit, vegetation, nuts, honey, and occasionally insects, and meat, varying from other subspecies because of regional habitat differences. Cubs weigh approximately 230 grams (8 oz) at birth, with adults weighing between 92.1 and 270 kilograms (203 and 595 lb). The life span for this bear is a maximum of 30 years.[1]
Cinnamon bears are excellent climbers, good runners, and powerful swimmers. They are mostly nocturnal, though sometimes active during daylight hours. The various colors are frequently intermixed in the same family; hence it is a common occurrence to see a black bear female with brown cubs, a brown and a black cub, or even all three colors.
The bears hibernate during the winter months, usually from late October or November to March or April depending upon the weather conditions.[3] Their scat resembles that of domestic dogs.[4]
References
- 1 2 seaworld.org Cinnamon Bear, Animal Bytes
- 1 2 Cinnamon Bears Archived 2013-07-19 at the Wayback Machine., Bears of the World
- ↑ yellowstone/online
- ↑ Alden, Peter; Brian Cassie; et al. (September 1999). National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southwestern States (1st ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 363. ISBN 0-679-44680-X.
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