Black bears are the smallest bears in North America and in the Seekers series.
Lore[]
Black bears believe that their spirits go into trees when they die, and their faces can be seen in the bark. They call the North Star "The Bear Watcher" and tell stories about the Great Bear and Little Bear being a large brown bear who wants to claim the star, and a little black bear who keeps the star in her tail, and flees him around the sky but is always able to evade him. Black bears believe in the deity Arcturus.
History[]
In the Seekers Manga[]
Lusa's Tale[]
Before it was canceled, Lusa, Yogi, King, Ashia, and Stella were slated to appear in this book.
In The Original Series arc[]
The Quest Begins[]
- Many black bears appear in this book, such as Lusa, Ashia, Stella, Yogi and King. Ben and Old Bear are other black bears who were only mentioned. Lusa, Ashia, King, Yogi, and Stella live in the Bear Bowl together. When Lusa meets a brown bear who has lost all her cubs with only one still alive, Toklo, Lusa makes a last promise to her to find him. Lusa grows discontent with her life in captivity and eventually escapes, only to almost be killed by multiple brown bears, including Toklo.
Great Bear Lake[]
- At Great Bear Lake, there is a whole section of forest reserved for black bears. Named black bears are: Lusa, Miki, Pokkoli, Hashi, Chula and Ossi. Lusa joins the brown bears Toklo and Ujurak on their journey and find Great Bear Lake, where she meets Miki, Ossi, and Chula. When Miki is captured by polar bears, Lusa teams up with Toklo, Ujurak, and a polar bear cub named Kallik in order to save him.
Smoke Mountain[]
- When Lusa is hit by a firebeast, she sees the black bears back at the Bear Bowl. Black bears that appear in this book are Lusa, Ashia, Stella, Yogi and King. Lusa and her friends successfully make it to the Last Great Wilderness.
The Last Wilderness[]
- Lusa is a black bear who appears in this book. Her journey with her friends is complicated when Ujurak is taken to a flat-face hospital, forcing her and her friends to rescue him. At the end of the book, Kallik prepares to lead the black and brown bears onto the ice.
Fire in the Sky[]
- Lusa is a black bear who appears in this book. While traveling on the ice, she finds making her way difficult, thinks seal and seafood are disgusting, and struggles with the longsleep. Arcturus also appears in this book during Lusa's dream. Ashia is another black bear who makes an appearance in this book, during Lusa's dream.
Spirits in the Stars[]
- Lusa is a black bear who appears in this book. Ashia makes an appearance during her dream. Lusa and her friends make it to Star Island, where the polar bears believe she will save them from their illness. They find out it was caused by poisoned seals and help them learn about other food sources. At the end, they decide to leave and return home.
In the Return to the Wild arc[]
Island of Shadows[]
- Lusa is a black bear who makes an appearance in this book. Together with Toklo, Kallik, and their new companion, a polar bear named Yakone, she makes her way across the Endless Ice.
The Melting Sea[]
- Only one black bear appears in this book; who is Lusa. She and her friends venture out onto the Melting Sea and help the polar bears deal with a troublesome group of polar bears.
River of Lost Bears[]
- Three black bears are seen in this book; Lusa, Chenoa, and Hakan. Chenoa's and Hakan's deceased mother is mentioned but not seen. While Lusa and her friends travel along the river, Chenoa leaves her abusive brother, Hakan, and follows them, only to be killed falling down a waterfall. Lusa becomes depressed for a time after her death, but finds her friend's spirit in a tree, which she then helps save after it is cut down.
Forest of Wolves[]
- Lusa has been revealed to appear in this book. She and her friends travel to the mountains Toklo came from. When Yakone is desperately ill, Lusa fetches flat-face medicine to save him. Later, she and her companions help the brown bears get rid of some wolves.
The Burning Horizon[]
- Three black bears appear in this book: Lusa, Enola, and Taktuq. Lusa is injured and captured by flat-faces, who bring her to an animal hospital with a blind black bear, Taktuq. He helps her get used to life in captivity again, but Lusa eventually escapes and rejoins her friends for the last leg of their journey.
The Longest Day[]
- Many black bears appear in this book: Lusa, Miki, Ossi, Chula, Hashi, Leotie, Dustu, Dena, Sheena, Tibik, Hala, Rudi, Hakan, Yakni, and Lusa and Miki's cubs, Yogi and Ashia. Now at Great Bear Lake, Lusa parts ways with her friends and finds the black bears she knew. Later, she has to save a number of bears from a firebeast crash, and few die. During the fire, the black bears are saved by the brown and polar bears, and all celebrate their Longest Day together. Three years later, Lusa and Miki return with their cubs, Yogi and Ashia, and reunite with Ossi and his new friend Yakni, and meet up with Lusa's old friends and their new families.
Appearance[]
- Black bears are the smallest of all bears, with adult females weighing about 90-275 pounds, and males weighting 125-550 pounds. Individual coat colors can range from white, blond, cinnamon, or light brown to dark chocolate brown or to jet black, with many intermediate variations existing. Bluish tinged black bears occur along a portion of coastal Alaska and British Columbia. White to cream colored black bears, known as 'kermode' bears, occur in coastal islands and the adjacent mainland of south-western British Columbia. 70% of all black bears are black, though only 50% of black bears in the Rocky Mountains are black.
Diet[]
- They tend to primarily eat berries, grubs, and roots. They will occasionally scavenge meat or catch prey, and if pushed to extreme circumstances, human food thrown away into trash cans. They love to eat sweet fruit.
Habitat[]
- Black bears prefer to sleep in trees or at the bases of the trees. They are more comfortable in warmer climates, and can get sick easier that other bears in cold weather.
Attacks on Humans[]
- Attacks on humans are rare. However, according to Stephen Herrero in his Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance, 23 people were killed by black bears from 1900 to 1980. The number of black bear attacks on humans is higher than grizzlies, but this is because the number of black bears outnumbers the brown rather than greater aggressiveness.
- Black bears attack humans because of hunger instead of territorial reasons. The worst incident of fatal attacks occurred in May 1978, when three teenagers were killed by a black bear when they were out fishing. A few years ago, a woman was brutally attacked in front of her garage, but was saved by brave neighbors, one of which managed to ward off the bear with a broomstick. The woman made a full recovery.
Characters[]
Full article: Black Bear Appearances
The following main characters appear as black bears:
- Lusa
- King
- Ashia
- Yogi
- Stella
- Old Bear
- Arcturus
- Ben
- Issa
- Taloa
- Pokkoli
- Miki
- Hashi
- Ossi
- Chula
- Hakan
- Chenoa
- Chenoa's and Hakan's mother
Trivia[]
- The polar bears of Star Island call black bears "Tungulria" since it means "black one" in Inuktitut.