The Evolution of American Black Bears
Everyone has changed over time, not that physical person but the characteristics of an organism. For the American Black Bear this is no different, the ancestors of an American black bear group with the ancestors of an Asiatic black bear. Both the ancestors of the two bears diverged from the ancestor of today's sun bears some 4.5 million years ago. Possible ancestors of the black bear include the extinct Ursus abstrusus and Ursus vitabilis. This is known from fossils that were found in areas of North America.