| Taxa: |
| Order: |
| Family: |
| Mammalia |
| Carnivora |
| Ursidae |
| NatureServe Global Rank: |
| NatureServe State (NC) Rank: |
| G5 |
| S3 |
| Federal Status: |
| NC State Status: |
| --- |
| SR |
| Land Unit |
| US Fish & Wildlife Service |
| US Forest Service |
| US National Park Service |
| US Department of Defense |
| NC State Parks |
| NC University System |
| NC Wildlife Res. Com. |
| NC Forest Service |
| NC Div. of Coastal Mgmt. |
| Local Governments |
| Non-Governmental Org. |
| Other Public Lands |
| Private Lands |
| GAP Status 1-2 |
| All Protected Lands |
| Statewide |
| Hectares |
| 118,631.34 |
| 477,372.96 |
| 127,696.14 |
| 131,181.75 |
| 42,730.29 |
| 14,557.23 |
| 93,605.04 |
| 17,978.34 |
| 7,819.74 |
| 9,544.23 |
| 33,129.99 |
| 3,658.23 |
| 8,415,263.43 |
| 457,500.27 |
| 1,075,512.63 |
| 9,493,168.71 |
| Acres |
| 293,144.37 |
| 1,179,614.04 |
| 315,543.97 |
| 324,157.10 |
| 105,588.83 |
| 35,971.69 |
| 231,303.05 |
| 47,977.23 |
| 19,322.99 |
| 23,584.30 |
| 81,865.97 |
| 9,039.68 |
| 20,794,564.75 |
| 1,134,059.36 |
| 2,661,200.86 |
| 23,461,677.98 |
| % of Dist. on |
| Prot. Lands |
| 11.0 % |
| 44.4 % |
| 11.9 % |
| 12.2 % |
| 4.0 % |
| 1.4 % |
| 8.6 % |
| 1.7 % |
| 0.7 % |
| 3.0 % |
| 3.0 % |
| 0.3 % |
| < 0.1 % |
| 42.5 % |
| ----- |
| ----- |
| % of Dist. on |
| All Lands |
| 1.2 % |
| 5.0 % |
| 1.3 % |
| 1.4 % |
| 0.5 % |
| 0.2 % |
| 1.0 % |
| 0.2 % |
| < 0.1 % |
| 0.1 % |
| 0.3 % |
| < 0.1 % |
| 88.6 % |
| 4.8 % |
| ----- |
| ----- |
|
Two populations occur in the state, a coastal population which resides in tidewater counties and a highland population which resides in mountain counties (Whitaker and Hamilton 1998). Each population is largely centered around areas with the largest, most contiguous tracts of either forestland or swampland. The areas in both geographic locations that are
most isolated from human activity and development are the strongholds for these populations. In the southern Appalachians, bears do well in most deciduous or mixed forests but are associated with oak-hickory or mixed mesophytic forests with evergreen (rhododendron and mountain laurel) and/or berry-producing (blueberry, blackberry and raspberry) shrub components (Whitaker and Hamilton 1998). In the lower coastal plain, bears frequent bottomland swamps of black gum and cypress and large pocosins of titi and sweetbay, as well as dry hammocks and other high ground sites of maple-coniferous or oak associated forest with dense vine and shrub undergrowth. NATURE SERVE GLOBAL HABITAT COMMENTS: Prefers mixed deciduous-coniferous forests with a thick understory, but may occur in various situations. Large hardwood swamps and pocosins are important habitats on the Atlantic Coastal Plain. In the Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia and North Carolina, preferred habitats were pocosins, gum-cypress and maple-coniferous stands, disturbed areas, and roads; females exhibited seasonal changes in habitat preference (Hellgren and Vaughan 1989). In some areas (e.g., Alaska), makes significant use of salmon spawning streams. In southeastern wetlands, bears would benefit from maintenance and enhancement of pocosins, mature gum, oak, and disturbed habitats (Hellgren et al. 1991). When inactive, occupies den under fallen tree, in ground-level or above-ground tree cavity or hollow log, in underground cave-like sites, on on ground surface in dense cover. Young are born in a den. A low rate of den reuse was recorded in Pennsylvania. |
| Code | Name | Description | NC Natural Heritage Program Equivalent |
| 75 | Tidal Swamp Forest | Swamp tupelo dominated forest with or without black tupelo and/or cypress trees. Restricted to the tidal zones in the coastal plain. May have inclusions of coastal red cedar woodlands. | Tidal cypress - gum swamp |
| 121 | Maritime Pinelands | Loblolly forests and woodlands of the outer coastal plain. | Estuarine Fringe Loblolly Pine Forest |
| 17 | Maritime Forests and Hammocks | Maritime forests and woodlands dominated by live or sand laurel oak. Estuarine Fringe forests dominated by loblolly pine. | Coastal Fringe Evergreen Forest, Maritime Deciduous Forest, Maritime Deciduous Forest |
| 126 | Interdune Wooded Depression Swamp | Includes swamps dominated by sweetbay and swampbay or dogwood dominated forests. | Maritime Shrub Swamp, Maritime Swamp Forest |
| 173 | Coastal Plain Riverbank Shrubs | Shrub dominated riverbanks, commonly dominated by willows and/or alders. | Sand and Mud Bar |
| 50 | Coastal Plain Mixed Bottomland Forests | Includes forests dominated by a variety of hardwood species, including sweetgum, cottonwood, red maple. | Coastal Plain Bottomland Hardwood (in part), Coastal Plain Levee Forest |
| 49 | Coastal Plain Oak Bottomland Forest | Bottomland forests dominated by deciduous oak alliances. Oaks represented can include swamp chestnut, cherrybark, willow, and/or overcup oak. Inclusions of loblolly pine temporarily flooded forests occur in patches. Hydrology is temporarily to seasonally flooded. | Coastal Plain Bottomland Hardwoods (in part) blackwater subtype, brownwater subtype |
| 158 | Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Flat Forests | Loblolly pine - Atlantic white-cedar - red maple - swamp tupelo saturated forests as well as forests dominated by loblolly, sweetgum, and red maple in non-riverine flats. | Non-riverine Wet Hardwood Forest |
| 41 | Peatland Atlantic White-Cedar Forest | Dense stands of Atlantic white cedar with saturated hydrology. Can include swamp tupelo, red maple, and pond pines with a moderate shrub and herb layer. | Peatland Atlantic White-Cedar Forest |
| 15 | Seepage and Streamhead Swamps | Includes extensive peat flats in the coastal plain, dominated by swamp tupelo, maples, and Atlantic white cedar alliances. In the sandhills includes streamhead pond pine and bay forests alliances. Saturated hydrology. | Bay Forest, Small Depression Pocosin, Streamhead Atlantic White Cedar Forest, Streamhead Pocosins |
| 30 | Cypress-Gum Floodplain Forests | Swamps dominated by black or swamp tupelo with or without Taxodium. Seasonally to semi-permanently flooded hydrology. | Cypress-Gum Swamps |
| 78 | Pond-Cypress - Gum Swamps, Savannas and Lakeshores | Cypress dominated swamps and lakeshores. Can include bays dominated by pond cypress or shorelines of coastal plain lakes with a narrow band of cypress. | Non-riverine Swamp Forest, Natural Lakeshores (in part) |
| 385 | Oak Bottomland Forest and Swamp Forest | The swamp chestnut oak, cherrybark oak, shumard oak and sweetgum alliance is one representative. Other alliances are dominated by water, willow, and overcup oaks. Swamp forests can be dominated by sweetgum, red maple, and black gum being dominant. Loblolly can occur in combination with sweetgum and red maple, or with tulip poplar. Includes saturated and semi- to permanently flooded forests in the mountains. | Piedmont/Mountain Bottomland Forest, Piedmont/Mountain Swamp Forest |
| 63 | Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forests | Beech dominated forests with white oak and northern red oak as possible co-dominants. Dry-mesic to mesic forests on slopes and small stream bottoms in the coastal plain. | Mesic Mixed Hardwood Forest, Basic Mesic Forests |
| 138 | Coastal Plain Dry to Dry-Mesic Oak Forests | Oak dominated forests of the coastal plain. Includes white oak forests with water oak or northern red oak and hickories as co-dominants. | Dry Mesic Oak Hickory Forest, Basic Oak Hickory Forest, Dry Oak Hickory Forest |
| 87 | Pocosin Woodlands and Shrublands | Includes pond pine woodland, low pocosin and high pocosin shrub dominated areas. Canebrakes and bay forests may be present. | Pond Pine Woodlands, Peatland Canebrake, Small Depression Pocosin |
| 67 | Wet Longleaf or Slash Pine Savanna | Wet flatwoods and pine savannas, typically dominated by longleaf pines, but slash or pond pines may be the dominant pines. | Wet Pine Flatwoods |
| 97 | Mesic Longleaf Pine | Longleaf pine woodlands without a major scrub oak component. Slash or loblolly pines may be present as well. | Mesic Pine Flatwoods |
| 42 | Xeric Longleaf Pine | Sandhills including a range of longleaf pine density from predominantly wiregrass, scrub oak dominated to true longleaf pine woodland. This does not include mesic or saturated flatwood types. | Xeric Sandhill Scrub, Pine/Scrub Oak Sandhill, Coastal Fringe Sandhill |
| 46 | Xeric Oak - Pine Forests | Mixed forest dominated by yellow pines with white or northern red oaks co-dominating. | Pine Oak Heath |
| 232 | Xeric Pine-Hardwood Woodlands and Forests | Mixed forest dominated by yellow pines with drier oaks including southern red, post, and chestnut oaks. | Dry Oak Hickory Forest |
| 267 | Riverbank Shrublands | Riverside shrubs with temporarily flooded hydrologies. Found in the both the Mountains and Piedmont. Containing dominants such as smooth alder and a Carolina or black willows. | Sand and Mud Bar |
| 269 | Floodplain Wet Shrublands | Saturated shrublands of the Piedmont, includes buttonbush, swamp-loosestrife, decodon and alders. | Piedmont/mountain Semipermanent Impoundment |
| 230 | Piedmont Mesic Forest | American Beech - Red Oak - White Oak Forests. | Mesic Mixed Hardwood |
| 384 | Piedmont/Mountain Mixed Bottomland Hardwood Forests | Includes temporarily to seasonally forests dominated by hardwood species. Hardwoods include sweetgum, red maple, sycamore which co-occur in a mosaic of bottomland and levee positions. Includes alluvial hardwood forests in the mountains. Hemlock and white pine may occur as inclusions, but are generally mapped separately. | Piedmont/Mountain Alluvial Forest, Piedmont/Mountain Levee Forest |
| 383 | Piedmont Mixed Successional Forest | Generally loblolly mixed with successional hardwoods. Sweetgum, tulip poplar and red maple are common co-dominants in these successional forests. | No equivalent |
| 228 | Piedmont Dry-Mesic Oak and Hardwood Forests | Primarily oak dominated forests, white oak is often dominant, with co-dominants including . Also represented by sweetgum and tulip poplar dominated forests. | Dry Mesic Oak Hickory Forest, Basic Oak Hickory Forest, Dry Oak Hickory Forest |
| 222 | Piedmont Dry-Mesic Pine Forests | Loblolly dominated forests resulting from succession following clearing. This type occurs on all moisture regimes following disturbance with the exception of the extremely xeric sites. | No equivalent |
| 382 | Dry Mesic Oak Pine Forests | Mixed forests of the coastal plain and piedmont. Includes loblolly pine with white, southern red and/or post oak and loblolly with water oak. On basic sites of the piedmont, eastern red cedar may co-occur with post, black, and blackjack oaks. | Dry Mesic Oak Hickory Forest, Xeric Hard Pan Forest, Chestnut Oak Forest, Dry Mesic Oak Hickory Forest, Dry Oak Hickory Forest |
| 220 | Piedmont Xeric Pine Forests | Dry to xeric pine forests dominated by Virginia pine, shortleaf pine or Eastern Red Cedar. | Pine Oak Heath |
| 226 | Piedmont Xeric Woodlands | Generally post and blackjack oak dominated woodlands. White ash and pignut hickory can be found in combination with Eastern red cedar on glades. | Xeric Hardpan Forest |
| 20 | Coniferous Regeneration | Regenerating pine stands. Predominantly loblolly pine, but slash and longleaf stands occur as well. | No equivalent |
| 21 | Coniferous Cultivated Plantation (natural / planted) | Managed pine plantations, densely planted. Most planted stands are loblolly, but slash and longleaf occur as well. | No equivalent |
| 51 | Deciduous Cultivated Plantation | Planted deciduous trees. Includes sweetgum and sycamore plantations. | No equivalent |
| 36 | Successional Deciduous Forests | Regenerating deciduous trees with a shrub stature. Commonly dominated by sweetgum, tulip poplars and maples. | No equivalent |
| 180 | Agricultural Crop Fields | Farm fields used for row crops. | No equivalent |
| 205 | Agricultural Pasture/Hay and Natural Herbaceous | Farm fields used for pasture grass or hay production, as well as old fields dominated by native and exotic grasses. | No equivalent |
| 202 | Residential Urban | Includes vegetation interspersed in residential areas. Includes lawns, mixed species woodlots, and horticultural shrubs. Vegetation accounts for between 20 - 70% of the cover. | No equivalent |
| 517 | Hemlock Floodplain Forest | Alluvial forest with hemlock and/or white pine in mountains and western piedmont. Hydrology is generally temporarily to seasonally flooded. | Canada Hemlock Forest |
| 521 | Spruce/Fir Forest | High Elevation Frazer-Fir - Red Spruce, Red Spruce and Red-Spruce-Yellow Birch Forests. Tree densities included here include both woodland to forest density. Highly intermixed with Northern Hardwoods, Grassy Balds, and Shrub Balds. | Red Spruce--Fraser Fir Forest, Fraser Fir Forest |
| 522 | Northern Hardwoods | High Elevation forests including yellow birch, American beech, and yellow buckeye. Includes forests with Hemlock and Yellow Birch. | Northern Hardwoods Forest, Boulderfield Forest |
| 523 | Grassy Bald | High Elevation grassy balds including Pennsylvania sedge, mountain oatgrass, as well as shrubby areas dominated by Alleghany and smooth blackberry. | Grassy Bald |
| 524 | Shrub Bald | Variable phenologies, predominantly evergreen balds with rhododendon and Mountain laurels. Deciduous shrubs including green alder and Alleghany and smooth blackberry are included as well. Red Oak - Chestnut Oak Woodlands may be included in cases where the density of the woodland species is low and the shrub component is dense. | Heath Bald |
| 525 | Appalachian Oak Forest | A variety of oak forest types including Black, White, Scarlet Oaks in dry to mesic situations. Includes forests historically co-dominated by American Chestnut. | High Elevation Red Oak Forest, Montane White Oak Forest |
| 526 | Appalachian Cove Forest | Mixed Mesophytic forests of the mountains. Includes tuliptree, basswood, yellow buckeye and surgar maple. This class is mapped to include cove forests dominated or co-dominated by hemlock. | Rich Cove Forest, Acidic Cove Forest |
| 527 | Appalachian Hemlock | Upland hemlock forests of the moutains region. Vary from side slopes to steep slope positions. | Canada Hemlock Forest |
| 528 | Appalachian Xeric Pine Forest | Pine forests and woodlands on xeric sites. A variety of pines, including Virginia, Shortleaf, Eastern White Pine, Table Mountain and Pitch pine. Often small areas of dense pine within a matrix of Xeric Oak-Pine Forests. | Pine Oak Heath |
| 529 | Appalachian Xeric Mixed Forest | Mixed forests with Virginia, Shortleaf, Eastern White Pine, Table Mountain and Pitch pines in combination with xeric oak species. Oaks include, white, Southern Red, black, and rock chestnut. | Pine Oak Heath |
| 530 | Appalachian Xeric Deciduous Forest | Deciduous forests in the mountains dominated by Xeric Oak species. Species include, white, Southern red, black, and rock chestnut. | High Elevation Red Oak Forest, Montane White Oak Forest |
| 533 | Appalachian Swamp Forest | Evergreen and deciduous forests with saturated hydrologies. This class may contain a variety of trees species, including hemlock - red maple, pitch pine, and white pine forests. | Swamp Forest-Bog Complex, Southern Appalachian Bog, Southern Appalachian Fen |
| 534 | Appalachian Wet Shrubland/ Herbaceous | Saturated shrubs and herbaceous vegetation. Often mapped as an inclusion in Appalachian Swamp Forest. | Southern Appalachian Bog, Southern Appalachian Fen |
| 535 | Talus/Outcrops/Cliffs | Includes seep talus slopes with sparce vegetation, as well as outcrops including, granitic outcrops. Some outcrops will have been mapped as barren rock. | No equivalent |
|
Clark, J. D., and K. G. Smith, editors. 1991. Proceedings of the eastern workshop on black bear research and management. Univ. Arkansas. 150 pp. Nowak, R. M. 1991. Walker's mammals of the world. Fifth edition. Vols. I and II. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore. 1629 pp. Figg, D. E. 1993. Missouri Department of Conservation wildlife diversity report, July 1992-June 1993. 75 pp. Wooding, J. B., and T. S. Hardisky. 1992. Denning by black bears in northcentral Florida. J. Mammalogy 73:895-898. Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal Species of the World:a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Second Edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 19 August 1988. Notice of findings on petitions to list the Louisiana black bear, lower Keys marsh rabbit, and Sherman's fox squirrel. Federal Register 53:31723-31725. Whitaker, J.O. Jr. and W.J. Hamilton, Jr. 1998. Mammals of the eastern United States. Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, New York. 583 pp. Williamson, S. J. No date. Forester's guide to wildlife habitat improvement. Cooperative Extension Service, Univ. of New Hampshire. 56 pp. Eiler, J. H., W. G. Wathen, and M. R. Pelton. 1989. Reproduction in black bears in the southern Appalachian Mountains. J. Wildlife Management 53:53:353-360. Hellgren, E. C., and M. R. Vaughan. 1989. Demographic analysis of a black bear population in the Great Dismal Swamp. J. Wildlife Management 53:969-977. Horner, M. A., and R. A. Powell. 1990. Internal structure of home ranges of black bears and analyses of home-range overlap. J. Mammalogy 71:402-410. Jonkel, C.J. and I.M. Cowan. 1971. The black bear in the spruce-fir forest. Wildlife Monographs 27. 57 pp. Banfield, A.W.F. 1974. The mammals of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto. Godin, A.J. 1977. Wild Mammals of New England. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 304 pp. Hamilton, William J., Jr., and John O. Whitaker, Jr. 1979. Mammals of the eastern United States. Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, New York. 346 pp. Martinka, C. J., and K. L. McArthur, eds. 1980. Bears:their biology and management. Bear Biology Assoc. Conf. Ser. No. 3. Bear Biology Assoc., Boise, Idaho. 375 pp. Hall, E. R. 1981. The Mammals of North America. Second edition. 2 Volumes. John Wiley and Sons, New York, New York. Schwartz, Charles W., and Elizabeth R. Schwartz. 1981. The wild mammals of Missouri. University of Missouri Press, Columbia. 356 pp. Baker, Rollin H. 1983. Michigan mammals. Michigan State University Press. 642 pp. Rogers, L. L. 1986. Effects of translocation distance on frequency of return by adult black bears. Wildlife Society Bull. 14:76-80. Herrero, S. 1985. Bear attacks:their causes and avoidance. Winchester Press. 287 pp. LeCount, A.L. 1986. Black bear field guide:a manager's manual. Arizona Game and Fish Dept. (Special Report no. 16). 135 pp. Rogers, L. L. 1987. Effects of food supply and kinship on social behavior, movements, and population growth of black bears in northeastern Minnesota. Wildlife Monographs 97:1-72. Klenner, W. 1987. Seasonal movements and home range utilization patterns of the black bear, URSUS AMERICANUS, in western Manitoba. Canadian Field-Naturalist 101:558-568. Cronin, M. A., et al. 1991. Interspecific and intraspecific mitochondrial DNA variation in North American bears (URSUS). Canadian J. Zoology 69:2985-2992. Caire, W., J. D. Tyler, B. P. Glass, and M. A. Mares. Z. Marsh (illustrator). 1989. Mammals of Oklahoma. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. Oklahoma. 567 pp. Gibeau, M. L., and P. C. Paquet. 1991. Evaluation of Telazol for immobilization of black bears. Wildlife Society Bull. 19:400-402. Handley, C. O., Jr. 1991. Mammals. Pages 539-616 in K. Terwilliger, coordinator. Virginia's endangered species:proceedings of a symposium. McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company, Blacksburg, Virginia. Hellgren, E. C., M. R. Vaughan, and D. F. Stauffer. 1991. Macrohabitat use by black bears in a southeastern wetland. J. Wildlife Management 55:442-448. Darling, L., and R. Archibald, editors. 1990. Bears--their biology and management. Proc. Eighth Int. Conf. on Bear Res. and Manage., Victoria, British Columbia, Feb. 1989. 438 pp. Coy, P. L., and D. L. Garshelis. 1992. Reconstructing reproductive histories of black bears from the incremental layering of dental cementum. Canadian J. Zoology 70:2150-2160. Herrero, ed. Bears -- their biology and management. IUCN Publ. new ser., No. 23, 371 pp. Rogers, L. L., G. A. Wilker, and S. S. Scott. 1991. Reactions of black bears to human menstrual odors. J. Wildlife Management 55:632-634. Shields, G. F., and T. D. Kocher. 1991. Phylogenetic relationships of North American ursids based on analysis of mitochondrial DNA. Evolution 45:218-221. |
For more information please contact them at:
NC-GAP Analysis Project
Dept. of Zoology, NCSU
Campus Box 7617
Raleigh, NC 27695-7617
(919) 513-2853
www.basic.ncsu.edu/ncgap