Bear, Baby Black

This familiar face from the woodlands of North America could charm the honey from the bees. One of our original designs, the Baby Black Bear puppetâ??s popularity still runs strong. With his soft fur and sweet face, youâ??ll love him, too.

Puppet Dimensions
Length         Width          Height       Weight
5" LONG     6" WIDE     9" TALL     4 OZ

Puppet Stats
Puppet Type: HAND PUPPET
Special Features: Movable head and arms

Fun Facts

The American black bear (Ursus americanus) is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continentâ??s smallest and most widely distributed bear species. Black bears are omnivores with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in search of food. Sometimes they become attracted to human communities because of the immediate availability of food. The American black bear is the worldâ??s most common bear species.

American black bears often mark trees using their teeth and claws as a form of communication with other bears, a behavior common to many species of bears.

Despite living in North America, American black bears are not closely related to brown bears and polar bears; genetic studies reveal that they split from a common ancestor 5.05 million years ago (mya). Both American and Asian black bears are considered sister taxa, and are more closely related to each other than to other species of bear. Reportedly, the sun bear is also a relatively recent split from this lineage.

The ancestors of American black bears and Asiatic black bears diverged from sun bears 4.58 mya. The American black bear then split from the Asian black bear 4.08 mya. The earliest American black bear fossils, which were located in Port Kennedy, Pennsylvania, greatly resemble the Asiatic species, though later specimens grew to sizes comparable to grizzlies. From the Holocene to present, American black bears seem to have shrunk in size.