The first of 35 photos taken of the big guy, captured 3/13/10, at the Los Angeles Zoo in Los Angeles California. This fellow appears rather depressed, listless and without spirit, at least on human terms. Just look at that pitiful woe-is-me expression. Or maybe he was just bored by the daily ritual. I realize he's wearing a heavy overcoat, but it wasn't hot that day, so I don't think that was the reason. You just want to go up there and give him a big hug (NOT!) As if on cue, he just meandered out to sit down to face and satisfy the crowd with their remarks, stares and cameras, and then returned to his den within the compound. ----------------------- The American black bear (Ursus americanus) is North America's smallest and most common species of bear. It is a generalist animal, being able to exploit numerous different habitats and foodstuffs. The American black bear is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern, due to the species' widespread distribution and a large global population estimated to be twice that of all other bear species combined. The species is not overly dangerous to humans, but has been responsible for a few deaths, as well as property damage and livestock predation. The American black bear has been the source of inspiration for numerous popular cultural depictions of bears, including the Teddy Bear and Winnie the Pooh. The American black bear lived during the same period as short-faced bears (Arctodus simus and A. pristinus) and the Florida spectacled bear (Tremarctos floridanus). These Tremarctine bears evolved from bears that had emigrated from Asia to North America. The short-faced bears are thought to have been heavily carnivorous and the FL spectacled bear more herbivorous, while the American black bears remained arboreal omnivores, like their Asian ancestors. The black bear's generalist behaviour allowed it to exploit a wider variety of foods and has been given as a reason why of these 3 genera, it alone survived climate and vegetative changes through and last ice age while the other more specialized North American predators went extinct. However, both Arctodus and Tremarctos had survived several other ice ages. After these prehistoric Ursids went extinct during the last glacial period 10,000 years ago, black bears were probably the only bear present in much of North America until the arrival of Brown Bears to the rest of the continent. Source: Wikipedia free encyclopedia. Adieu, thankx for the visit, and for any and all complimentary comments and favs.