What is the home range of an American black bear?
The home range of an American black bear can vary greatly depending on the location, the season, food availability, the density of individuals, and the sex and age of the individual in question. The home range of a male is normally larger than that of a female, and each male's home range will usually overlap the home ranges of several females. Generally, the poorer the habitat, the larger the home range must be in order to supply the bear with enough food, water, and shelter. While in some extreme instances a male American black bear could have a home range of over 100 square miles, a more typical size would be:
[bgcolor=#FF1300]My estimate for where I hunt[/bgcolor]
Male 8 - 60 square miles [bgcolor=#FF1300] 5-8 miles[/bgcolor]
Female 1 - 15 square miles [bgcolor=#FF1300]1-3 miles[/bgcolor]
http://www.americanbear.org/Habitat%20-%20Home%20Range.htmI looked up a couple other sites and they all had pretty much the same info. My guess is on the west side the range is quite a bit smaller. Lots of food down here where I live. I see tons of fresh sign in the fall so there must be lots of bear sharing the same area or one bear that never leaves. Probably a combo of lots of bears and very small ranges.