Meet Your Neighbors: Black Bears

Meet Your Neighbors: New York’s Natural World

In this series, we connect policy to nature – highlighting native New York species, what we have in common with them, and the roles they play in NYLCV’s policy agenda. Here in Part 3, we meet New York’s black bears.

By Georgia Good

This time of year, with its short days and icy streets, you might just want to hibernate. As you bundle up for the walk to the subway, or de-ice your car, your mind might drift to those luckier animals who spend the winter tucked away, in hibernation. The classic example: the bear.

Our state’s black bears can be elusive, but they’re here – and increasingly visible. Right now, there are at least 6,000-8,000 bears in New York. They’re mostly in forested, mountainous areas: 50-60% are in the Adirondacks, 30-35% in the Catskills, and 10-15% in Central-Western New York. After a few decades of conservative bear management, they’re now well-established in other areas, too, including the Hudson Valley, Tug Hill, and Southern Tier. They’re being seen in semi-rural and agricultural areas. And transient bears make appearances in the Lake Ontario Plains, Mohawk Valley, and St. Lawrence Valley.

Now, some bear facts.

Black bears are big: the average adult male weighs 300 lb (that’s twice the weight of the average human), and the average female, 170 lb. When standing upright, they’re 5-7 ft tall. And they’re not always black: a few are brown or cinnamon-colored, and some have a small white patch on their chest. 

Black bears live eighteen years on average, but can live into their forties in the wild. They live mostly solitary lives, breeding in the summer – and having cubs around this time of year (late January to early February)! 

Like us, bears are smart, curious, and adaptable, and are generally focused on food. Unlike us, their noses are up to seven times more sensitive than a bloodhound’s. And while they may seem to lumber about and sleep excessively, they’re athletic: they can sprint up to 30mph, swim strongly, and use their big claws to climb trees with surprising grace. They’re omnivorous, munching on grasses, berries, fruit, nuts, seeds, insects, and carrion – anything, really. Occasionally, they hunt small animals, and they’re most active at dawn and dusk. 

And, yes, they (basically) hibernate. Around mid-November, when food sources dissipate, black bears search for dens for the winter. Good real estate for a bear: a hollow tree, a hole in rock, or under big tree roots. 

Then, it’s sleepy time. Black bears outperform even the most committed of human teenagers, sleeping several months straight. Unlike “true hibernators” like groundhogs, squirrels and bats, they’re in a state of torpor – a lighter form of dormancy, meaning they can wake up if threatened. Their metabolism and breathing slows, and they survive on fat stores – no food or water goes in or out for months. Their heart rates can drop to eight beats per minute (humans have a resting heart rate of 60-100bpm). Not a bad way to spend a New York winter. 

How do bears improve our ecosystems? 

Despite all that sleeping, bears aren’t slackers. In the warmer months, they don’t just stock up their own inner-pantries: they contribute vital services to our ecosystems. Black bears are critical, unique ecosystem engineers in New York. 

By eating berries, nuts and fruits, they disperse seeds widely. This drives biodiversity, helps our forests regenerate, and “plants” plants needed by birds and other pollinators. By eating ants, grubs and moth larvae, bears regulate insect populations. By digging for roots and insects, they aerate the soil, and their scat returns nutrients to it – making it richer, healthier, and better for plant life. Healthy forests mean cleaner air, resilient land, less carbon, and happier New Yorkers. 

We’re with the bears. At NYLCV, we’re calling for an increase in resources and visitor education for wilderness protection in the Catskills and Adirondacks. We’re encouraging New York to meet its 30×30 land and water protection goal, by streamlining its state land acquisition process and partnering with land trusts to acquire and protect more land. We support climate-resilient forest and land management practices that reduce and sequester carbon in soils, to help achieve the US Climate Alliance’s Natural and Working Lands challenge. And we want New York to expand equitable public access to wild places. See more on our 2026 State Policy Agenda. 

What do I do if I see a black bear? 

It’s illegal to feed bears in New York – it can make them bold and aggressive toward humans, damage their health, and disrupt their natural (anti)social behavior. The State has a Black Bear Management Plan, which includes hunting laws, to maintain the species while minimizing human-bear conflict. 

If you do come across one, don’t panic. Black bears are wary of humans, and will probably just continue on their way. If a bear starts to get close, though, stand your ground – speak loudly, and slowly back away. If he keeps coming, get bigger – shout, wave your arms and fight back if you need to (don’t run – that can invoke their chasing instinct!). 

What can bears teach us?

For black bears, hibernation is a survival strategy. Biology is powerful. Even captive bears are prone to it in the winter. Perhaps the bears have something to teach us about our own natural rhythms – like these furry New Yorkers, we have wild instincts in our hearts, telling us to slow down when it’s dark and cold outside. These instincts help fortify us, when our survival is at stake. 

And it is. Like our furry neighbors, we rely on rich, diverse ecosystems, good soil, and healthy, carbon-capturing forests to survive. Let’s keep fighting for them, together.

Georgia Good is the Communications Fellow at the New York League of Conservation Voters. She’s a Steinhardt Graduate Scholar in Environmental Conservation Education at NYU, with a focus on climate communications and advocacy. She’s had comms roles at Climate Arc, the Centre for Climate Engagement, University of Cambridge, and Mercy Corps, and she has a BA in English from UCL, UK.