The Black bear is the smaller cousin to the grizzly and grows to a height of up to 1.9 meters (6 feet) and weighs in at between 90 to 250 kilograms (200 to 600 pounds). Their colour ranges from black to brown or cinnamon and sometimes (although rarely) a grayish-blue or ivory-white. Black bears appear higher at the hind end than the front and they have large round ears and a long nose.

Mother bears start with their first offspring at three to five years of age and have between one to four cubs every two or more years over their 20-year life span.

Both Grizzly and Black bears are opportunistic feeders searching for plants, berries and meat for food. At the Orford River location, Grizzlies are most often found feeding on salmon swimming upstream to spawn starting in mid-August through to October. The rich red meat of the Chinook, Coho, Chum or Pink salmon are an essential part of the bears diet. In order to survive the long cold Bute Inlet winters, the bears feast on salmon for much of the fall until they have stored away enough fat to get through hibernation.

Black bears are often seen along the shoreline at low tides turning over rocks to get at crabs and mussels. The larger Grizzly bear does not tolerate the smaller Black bears eating in their territory so it rare to see a black bear feeding on salmon when Grizzlies are in the area.