Black Bears in Florida : Bear Facts - Size, Weight, Diet

The "Bear" Facts

Size, Weight, Diet

"Sizing" up the Black Bear

Bears are sexually dimorphic. This phrase means that adult males are larger than adult females, however because smaller males are similar in size to adult females, it is difficult to determine the sex of a bear by their size alone.

Some people think that because white-tailed deer body size is reduced from northern to southern states, especially key deer, then black bears in Florida are smaller than more northern bears. This is not true.

Adult males in Florida normally weigh between 250 - 450 pounds, and adult females in Florida normally weigh between 125 - 250 pounds.

• There have been two male bears that set a record for the state in excess of six hundred pounds. One was a 635 lb bear harvested in 1945 in Volusia County. The other was a 624 lb, eight year old male roadkill in December 1988 in Collier County.

• The record weight for a female bear is 400 pounds, roadkill in January 2007 in Liberty County. Bears that habitually feed on human supplied foods such as garbage and wildlife feed or pet food to be abnormally large.

Photo of male and female bear.

The weight of individual black bears varies greatly throughout the year.

Food availability is low during the winter months, even in Florida, and both male and female bears lose weight.

Bears can lose up to 25% of their body weight while denning.
As plants grow new shoots in the spring, bears begin to gain weight.

During the summer breeding season, males spend most of their time searching for mates. Females with or without cubs spend most of their time foraging.

Most people find it hard to estimate the size of a bear that they have seen in the wild. One good method is to pay attention to the relative size of their ears.

Because the ears of black bears reach full length when they are juveniles, small, skinny yearlings appear to have very long "Mickey-mouse" ears on slender faces, while large males seem to have very small, rounded ears on wide, round heads.

Also, adult males tend to have wide, wedge shaped faces, while females have more slender looking faces.

As breeding season ends and fall begins, both sexes forage and gain up to 1-1/2 times their summer weight. This is called "hyperphagia."

Male bears, may stay active and eating all winter. Gaining weight allows bears to make it through the winter months.

Females need to be in good condition to produce and feed cubs during denning. Bears can gain or lose over a 100 pounds over one year!

What Does a Black Bear Eat?

Bears are called omnivores because they eat both plant and animal matter.  A bear’s diet consists of  80% plant and  20% animal matter.

Black bears eat mainly acorns, nuts, berries, and other vegetation as well as insects.

A small percentage of their diet is meat which is mostly obtained from scavenging.

The black bear diet varies seasonally and yearly depending on fluctuations in plant productivity but it is also based on geographic variation from one region of Florida to the next. For example, saw palmetto berries are a high portion of bear diets in the Osceola population, but insignificant in the Apalachicola population. This ability to find and eat a wide variety of food types can bring bears into contact with humans. For example bears can be attracted to garbage, honey, barbeque grills, wildlife feeders, etc.

FWC has compiled a list of natural food items that Florida bears are known to eat.