American Black Bears (Ursus americanus), which are found in various color phases of black, brown, cinnamon, blond, and even white, are not closely related to brown bears (grizzlies) or polar bears. There is a small primitive (extinct) bear (Ursus abstrusus) from 4.9 million years ago, that is thought to be the direct ancestor of the American black bear which evolved in North America.
From the beginning of the Holocene period (10,000 years ago) to present the species seems to have shrunk in size. Nonetheless, bears in the Hopland area have been known to reach almost 500 lbs in size. American black bears tend to be arboreal omnivores, but they are quite at home foraging for food from the ground level in search of termites, grubs, manzanita berries, and the like.
The black bear tends to be of "generalist behavior" which has allowed it to exploit a wide variety of food ... a trait that most probably allowed it to survive the last ice age. Here you see the mother bear (sow) of the cub that you saw yesterday ... again of cinnamon color that is similar to the current HREC bears.
