Legal Status
Today, a major threat to the American black bear is poaching, or illegal killing, to supply Asian markets with bear galls and paws, considered to have medicinal value in China, Japan, and Korea. The demand for these parts also affects grizzly and polar bears. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty among more than 120 nations, provides measures to curb illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products across international boundaries, helping to protect the black bear from poaching.
Black bears are abundant in much of the West, in portions of the Midwest, and in most of Canada. For example, Ontario is home to about 100,000 bears, with at least as many in neighboring Quebec, while Minnesota has a very healthy population of 30,000 bears. In contrast, Iowa, where land is heavily used for agriculture, has virtually none. Most eastern populations in the United States are seeing a marked, steady increase in population: bears are moving back into places where they may not have been present for over a century as suitable habitat has come back. In eastern states with heavily wooded areas, populations are growing very quickly; in North Carolina there were 11,000 bears at last count in 2004, Pennsylvania estimates 15,000 bears currently, New Jersey (one of the urbanized states) 1,500, and even tiny Rhode Island has seen evidence of bears moving into areas where they haven't been in decades. The Florida black bear has also seen increases in numbers in recent decades, in 2004 the Florida Fish & Wildlfie Commission estimated over 2,400 bears were in the state. Unfortunately, not all is well. Continued development may reduce connectivity between the already separated populations in Florida. Numbers of bears in the Louisiana subspecies continue to be at critically low levels, although several reintroduction projects have added bears to new areas of the state. In Mexico, the indigenous black bear population is listed as endangered and is mostly limited to increasingly fragmented habitat in the mountainous northern parts of the country. Individuals from this area seem to have naturally recolonized parts of southern Texas.
In 1992, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Louisiana black bear subspecies as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act, meaning it could be in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range in the near future. The American black bear is also protected by legislation in the affected states (Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas), owing to its close resemblance to this subspecies. The Florida black bear was denied protection under the Endangered Species Act in 1998 and 2004 due to its adequate protection and management by the State of Florida.
inside his head. 
