Can the American black bear in Colorado sport a brown coat?
Yes. In the eastern U.S., the majority of black bears have black fur, but brown coats are common in the Rocky Mountains and the Southwest.
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Yes.
Despite their name, American black bears can possess coats in varying shades of brown, including honey and cinnamon, as well as black.
Early settlers named the species based on the first bears they saw. In eastern North America, the majority of black bears have the namesake black fur, while brown coats become more frequent in the Rocky Mountains and the deserts of the Southwest. In Western states with mountain meadows and open forests, most black bears have brown or blond coats. Lighter fur reduces heat stress, helping bears spend more time in open habitats.
An estimated 17,000 to 20,000 black bears live in Colorado, favoring areas with scrub oak, aspen and chokecherry and serviceberry bushes. Black bears have been Colorado’s largest carnivore since grizzly bears went extinct in the state, with the last known Colorado grizzly killed by a hunter in the San Juan Mountains in 1979.
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