According to a book entitled "Black Bears: A Natural History", by Dave Taylor, in 2003, there were 150,000 black bears in Alaska, 31,000 in California, 30,000 in Washington, 27,500 in Oregon, 23,000 in Maine, 22,500 in Idaho, 20,000 in Minnesota, 20,000 in Montana, 15,000 in Pennsylvania, 14,000 in Michigan, 11,500 in Colorado, 11,150 in Wisconsin, and 10,000 in North Carolina. If you spent any amount of time walking in the forests of these states, there is a very good chance that a black bear saw you, but you probably didn't see the black bear. They prefer it that way.