Yellowstone Black Bear
The black bear is Yellowstone's smaller, more arboreal bear — and the one visitors often underestimate. Despite the name, many are brown, cinnamon, or even blonde.
Overview
American black bears (Ursus americanus) are smaller and more forest-oriented than grizzlies. They're accomplished climbers (grizzlies are not), favor forest edges, and emerge from dens a little after grizzlies in spring.
Black bears are common in the park — the NPS 2018 bear management report recorded 665 black bear sightings — and are most often seen in the Tower-Roosevelt area and along the northern-range forest edge.
Where to find them
- Tower-Roosevelt: The classic black bear area — forest edges and meadows.
- Northern range forest edge: Black bears prefer cover; scan the treeline, not the open valley.
- Mammoth area: Occasional sightings in the developed zone.
When to look
Spring (May–June) after emergence, and fall during hyperphagia. Dawn and dusk along forest edges. They retreat to dens by November.
- How to see a bear in Yellowstone — the seven-step field method
⚠️Stay at least 100 yd away
Frequently asked questions
Are all black bears black?+
No — color is unreliable. Yellowstone black bears range from black to brown, cinnamon, and even blonde. Identify by shape (no shoulder hump, straight face, pointed ears), not color.
Where is the best place to see a black bear?+
The Tower-Roosevelt area and northern-range forest edges. Unlike grizzlies, black bears favor cover — look at the treeline rather than in open meadows. Dawn and dusk are best.
Do black bears climb trees?+
Yes — they're excellent climbers (grizzlies generally are not). A black bear will send cubs up a tree when threatened. Never approach a tree with a black bear cub in it.
Are black bears dangerous?+
Yes, especially sows with cubs. Give them 100 yards, carry bear spray, and never corner one. Black bear attacks are rare but can be serious; treat them with the same respect as grizzlies.
Data & field guide
2,693 aggregate reports. Peak: May. Sighting frequency, not population abundance.
8,644 timed records. Daylight viewing bias applies.
Field identification: tracks & sign
Ursus americanus · Ursidae
Tracks
- Front foot
- 100–150mm × 90–140mm
- Hind foot
- 180–280mm × 90–120mm
- Track width
- 9–14cm
- Toes
- 5
- Stride
- 40–65 (walk)cm
Short, sharp, curved claws. Front claws 25–40mm — much shorter than grizzly. Claw marks may or may not show in track depending on substrate.
Scat & other sign
Tubular, somewhat blunt-ended. Diameter 25–40mm (smaller than grizzly). Content varies with diet: berries, insects, vegetation, occasional meat. Often found on trails and at base of trees.
Diameter: 25–40mm
Key identification features
- Short front claws (25–40mm) — often not visible in track
- Toes curve in an arc across front of track
- Straight facial profile (vs dished for grizzly)
- No shoulder hump
- Climbing sign on trees (vertical claw marks)
- Generally smaller overall track size
ℹ️In the field
spring-summer
2018 official roadside bear-jam totals
Roadside feeding bears can create traffic jams in spring and summer; treat jams as safety events, not destinations.
NPS recorded 240 grizzly-caused and 481 black-bear-caused roadside jams in 2018.
Use only broad seasonal context; do not publish or navigate to raw jam locations.
spring-summer
2019 official roadside bear-jam totals
Expect roadside bear visibility to be managed actively when bears feed near travel corridors.
NPS recorded 1,170 roadside bear jams in 2019: 333 grizzly, 833 black bear, and 4 unidentified.
Jam totals are aggregate official context; exact jam locations stay internal-only.
mid-August-fall
Whitebark pine can pull bears away from roads
After mid-August, strong whitebark pine cone crops can reduce roadside bear visibility as bears move higher.
This helps explain why late-summer roadside bear odds may drop even when overall bear activity is high.
Do not target remote whitebark stands; use this only as broad visibility context.
spring-fall
Carcasses are a major bear-visibility and safety cue
From legal roadside distance, scan for ravens, coyotes, wolves, and bear activity around visible carcasses.
NPS reported grizzlies feeding on ungulate carcasses in 109 of 721 opportunistic grizzly sightings in 2019.
Never approach a carcass; leave immediately if you find one away from a road.
Apr-Jun
Habitat cue
Roadside forest edge and meadow margins
Official bear-jam totals show black bears can be especially visible along roads in the spring roadside-feeding window.
Stay in the vehicle or well back at bear jams.
Sources & data notes
- Seasonal and hourly patterns: aggregated from NPS and observer trip reports in the project dataset (1995–2026). Only monthly counts are published; no per-sighting location or observer data.
- Report signals: official NPS/USGS aggregate or narrative report facts only. Exact dens, raw sightings, and bear-jam points are not published.
- Track & sign field guide: compiled from NPS species references and field-identification literature.
- NPS Yellowstone Bear Management annual reports — National Park Service (Only a small subset of available annual bear reports is currently parsed.)
Sources & data notes
- Black Bear data is drawn from official NPS, USGS, and NOAA sources catalogued in our source registry. Observer-submitted sightings are not published on this public guide.
- Black Bear carries dedicated official data (NPS ecology / management reports).
- NPS Yellowstone bear management page — National Park Service (Official bear-management process and BMA context; annual reports still need deeper PDF parsing.)
- NPS Yellowstone Bear Management annual reports — National Park Service (Only a small subset of available annual bear reports is currently parsed.)
- NPS Yellowstone mammals overview — National Park Service (Official mammal checklist/context page with current park-level population notes; not point data.)
Spotted something off, or want a deeper dive? Every claim above links to its original source — look for the ↗ markers and the Sources section.