Black bears are one of three bear species that live in North America, the other two being the brown bear and the polar bear. Of these bear species, black bears are the smallest and most timid. When encountered by humans, black bears often flee rather than attack.

Black bears have powerful limbs and are equiped with short claws that enable them to break apart logs, climb trees, and collect grubs and worms. They also claw apart beehives and feed on the honey and bee larvae they contain.

In the colder parts of their range, black bears seek refuge in their den for the winter where they enter a winter sleep. Their dormancy is not true hibernation, but during their winter sleep the refrain from eating, drinking or excreting waste for as long as seven months. During this time, their metabolism slows and heart rate falls.

Black bears vary quite considerably in color throughout their range. In the east, bears are usually black with a brown snout. But in the west, their color is more variable and can be black, brown, cinnamon or even a light buff color. Along the coast of British Columbia and Alaska, there are two color morphs of black bears that are distinct enough to earn them nicknames: the whitish "Kermode bear" or "spirit bear" and the blue-gray "glacier bear".

Although some black bears may be colored like brown bears, they two species can be distinguished by the fact that the smaller black bears lack the dorsal hump characteristic of the larger brown bears. Black bears also have larger ears that stand more erect than those of brown bears.