Blacks Only

While in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan this fall, I came across this picture on a poster titled “Upper Michigan Border Patrol”

I had never thought Brown bears lived in the Midwest, but this photo made me curious if I had been mistaken. In fact, it occurred to me that I had never really known enough about bears to know the range of any of the types of bears in the United States or even how many different types there were.

There are just two types of bears in the 48 contiguous states: Black and Brown. Brown bears live only in the very northwest area of the country and the only types of Brown bear in North America are Grizzly, Kodiak and the Mexican Brown Bear.

That leaves Minnesota and the U.P. with only Black bears. And while Black bears can be different colors including brown, there seems to be another trait that differentiates the two. Brown bears have a hump behind the shoulders, like the bears in this photo. So I think I was right. No way this picture was taken in the U.P. I’d be happy for feedback.


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