As forest animals, black bears rely more on their sense of smell than on their sense of sight. They follow their noses, using it to sniff out food, test the air for signs of danger, and to locate a mate. The black bear's sense of smell is so good that they can detect the presence of other animals a half mile away, or even human garbage buried under a foot of soil. In the forest, where available foods change according to the seasons, this sense is an important one.