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Author Topic: When do bears eat skunk cabbage?  (Read 4456 times)

Offline Pete112288

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When do bears eat skunk cabbage?
« on: November 17, 2015, 09:36:40 PM »
I have heard a lot about how much bears love skunk cabbage. I have found a few really nice areas that are situated very near 5-10 year old clear cuts that are full of berries and a scattering of wild cherry trees. It is on a hillside above a good salmon river and within a quarter mile of a main creek that the salmon come up to spawn. about a quarter mile above the main river there is a small bench of an area that an old skid road goes along. The surrounding timber is 15-20ft firs with several alder draws and bigger timber at one end. At one spot there is an old beaver dam on a small spring (where I shot the bear in my avatar, stumbled across it and since then I found out why it was in that area) also there is a big muddy flat next to the skid road that is loaded with skunk cabbage. This is all on a north facing hillside so I figure its perfect for early season when its warm. So to finally get around to my question. Is there a specific time of year that bears tend to gravitate to the skunk cabbage? Or is it just something they will work on all year round. I was thinking of next year setting up in a tree stand above the muddy flat off of it 20 yards or so, so I can see the trails that lead into and out of it.

Offline heronblu

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Re: When do bears eat skunk cabbage?
« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2015, 08:02:40 AM »
In my experience bears only eat skunk cabbage as a spring forage. Skunk cabbage and coltsfoot are usually the first things to come up in the spring in quantity.

Offline Eli346

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Re: When do bears eat skunk cabbage?
« Reply #2 on: November 18, 2015, 12:47:09 PM »
Bears love to eat the first growth of skunk cabbage; the bright yellow sprouts you see in the spring. They may eat it at other times but I've never heard of it.

Offline Grizman

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Re: When do bears eat skunk cabbage?
« Reply #3 on: November 19, 2015, 09:05:08 PM »
First thing out of hibernation they will find it and eat a bunch.  Gets their system going again.  Also look for areas of clover.  They love that in the early spring.

Offline JimmyHoffa

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Re: When do bears eat skunk cabbage?
« Reply #4 on: November 24, 2015, 08:42:58 AM »
I see it eaten mostly in the spring, it will actually pop up through the thin layers of snow in the mud.  But seems once they've moved up a notch in elevation they don't want to go back down for regrowth.  If it is a dry year and warm out, then they seem to eat it through the summer/fall. 

Offline fastdam

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Re: When do bears eat skunk cabbage?
« Reply #5 on: November 24, 2015, 08:46:38 AM »
Springtime when the shoots are young and tender, before the leaves take off

Offline billythekidrock

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Re: When do bears eat skunk cabbage?
« Reply #6 on: November 24, 2015, 08:50:01 AM »
They will dig up and eat the roots. In my experience, they don't like it much and they move on quickly if there is any other food source available. I see most feeding activity from late April to early May on the west side of I5.







 


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