CARSON CITY — Join wildlife biologist, Carl Lackey, at the Nevada State Museum on Tuesday from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. for an informative discussion called “Nevada’s Black Bear: Adaptation and Ecological Changes.” Lackey, a black bear specialist from the Nevada Department of Wildlife, will give a brief overview of the natural history of bears in the state, including basic biological information. He will then discuss the management history, research and current status of black bears in Nevada.

Lackey graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1990, with a degree in renewable natural resources with an emphasis on wildlife management. He has been with the Nevada Department of Wildlife since 1993. Since 1996, he has been the predator and furbearer biologist for the western Nevada region and has conducted research on black bears and mountain lions in their geographic range in this part of the state.

Nevada’s black bear, Ursus americanus, is not always black; they also come in shades of cinnamon and brown. Males can weigh up to 450 pounds and measure 4 feet at the shoulder. Females may weigh up to 350 pounds and get up to 3.5 feet at the shoulder. Black bears can range 15 miles or more. They can achieve speeds of 30 miles an hour in a sprint and are excellent climbers. Black bears are omnivorous; they graze on grass, browse on berries and blossoms, dig grubs, catch fish and small mammals and scavenge carrion.

“Nevada’s Black Bear” is part of the museum’s Frances Humphrey lecture series. Regular admission fees apply. Contact Deborah Stevenson, curator of education, at 687-4810, ext. 237 or dstevenson@nevadaculture.org.