North American Bear Center

06/19/2026

Lay back and relax... it's time for another update of Bear News by senior bear keeper Sharon! 🐻

Bear News 6/19/26: https://bear.org/bear-news-june-19th-2026/

📸Tasha by 2026 bear intern Addy!

06/19/2026

Annual Activity Patterns of Black Bears

06/18/2026

Noodle just checking in to say hi 😊 Come visit Noodle and his critter pals in our Northwoods Ecology Hall from 9am-6pm daily!

Plan your trip here: https://bear.org/visit-us/hours-admission-location/

📸Noodle by 2026 ecology intern Alara!
**p **ps **ping **patology

06/18/2026

Want to look as cool as a bear intern? 😆 Check out the NABC gift shop and add some intern approved style to your closet (all the cool kids are doing it)!

NABC gift shop: https://store.bear.org/

06/17/2026

Bears in North America: Minnesota! 🐻

Minnesota is home to the best black bears around: Lucky, Holly, and Tasha!

Ok, ok... we'll talk about the wild black bears instead 😉

Minnesota has a healthy population of about 15,000-21,000 black bears with a range that is beginning to expand. While bears are mostly concentrated in the northern third of the state, more and more people are reporting bears in the driftless zone before you hit Iowa, west by the Dakotas, and even in the suburbs of Minneapolis/St. Paul. As bear-human interactions begin to climb, practicing coexistence strategies becomes increasingly important.

📸Research bears Lily and Hope by Dr. Rogers

06/17/2026

06/16/2026

Woodchuck pups are out and active at the North American Bear Center!

While these woodchucks (Marmota monax) are not ambassadors, and are completely wild, we do have a healthy population that lives within the 2.5 acres of naturalistic bear habitat. With food availability, cover, and relative safety from predation, adult woodchucks do reproduce on our property- meaning every summer, we are greeted with adorable newborn woodchucks and get to watch them grow right from our viewing area!

Female woodchucks give birth to 3-6 blind and hairless pups from April-May, each weighing about one ounce.

Our 2026 interns have had a lot of fun in giving names to the woodchucks, keeping a food theme in honor of their mother, 'Nacho' 😆

📸Woodchuck pups by 2026 bear intern Victoria

06/16/2026

Join us THIS AFTERNOON (6/16) for a FREE event at the Ely Public Library! Macy will be there giving a presentation about black bears and how we can coexist with them!

Don't miss out!

06/15/2026

Love is in the air for black bears... it's mating season! 🐻

Here in northeastern Minnesota, the black bear mating season peaks in June. During this time, male black bears will roam large distances in search of receptive females to mate with, typically encompassing 7 or more female territories within their range. Attention is diverted from finding food to finding a female to flirt with; males lose roughly 20% of their body weight during the 7-8 week long mating season.

Male bears will follow a female for up to 9 days, testing her receptiveness. After mating, the male will move on to find another female. Both sexes are promiscuous.

📸Holly and Lucky in courtship behavior by staff member Macy

06/15/2026

Black bear adaptations with Addy