Richard Collins: Why Black bears are thriving in US cities

Black bears not only survive in our concrete jungles, they grow bigger and stronger than their wilder counterparts.

A Black bear wandering in suburban Florida. Bears thrive in urban environments.

With fires devastating American forests, the Smokey Bear campaign to protect them has never been more relevant. Smokey was a little bear cub caught in the notorious 1950 Capitan Gap fire in New Mexico. When the wind shifted suddenly, the flames jumped a fire-break, trapping the firemen who, by taking shelter beneath landslide debris, managed to survive. Smokey did the opposite. He climbed a tall tree to escape the flames. Rescued, he became the emblem of the US Fire Service.

Smokey was a black bear, as was Winnipeg, the inspiration for AA Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh character. Milne’s son, Christopher Robin, used to visit Winnipeg in London Zoo.