Ursus americanus (Pallas, 1780)

Álvarez-Córdova, Fernando & Fernández, Jesús A., 2021, Medium-sized and large mammals of the pine-oak forests and grasslands of the Rancho Experimental Teseachi in Chihuahua, Mexico, Check List 17 (2), pp. 669-681 : 677

Ursus americanus (Pallas, 1780)

Black Bear

Figure 2H

Material examined. MEXICO – Chihuahua • 1 Municipality of Namiquipa, Potrero Lajas , 28°46′34″N, 107° 27′34″W; elevation 2,180 m a.s.l.; 16 Jan. 2018; obs. F. Álvarez-Córdova .

Identification. This is the only extant species of Ursus Linnaeus, 1758 in Mexico. It is a medium-sized bear with long, coarse, black or brown fur ( Larivière 2001).

Distribution. Canada, USA, and Mexico through the pine, pine-oak forests of the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental ( Larivière 2001). Recorded habitats in Chihuahua are sierras and valleys.

Remarks. This species is now extirpated from most of northern Mexico. It only survives in small patches of forests in the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental in central and northern Mexico ( Scheick and McCown 2014). The record presented here is based on a single scat.