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Spring bear- what are they eating?
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Topic: Spring bear- what are they eating? (Read 3148 times)
Rob
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Frontiersman
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 4828
Location: Sandpoint ID
Spring bear- what are they eating?
«
on:
June 04, 2014, 07:53:32 AM »
I have a friend who has a spring bear tag he is trying to fill. What are Spring bear on the west side focusing on as a food source this time of year? (other than peels)
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Sit tall in the saddle, hold you head up high.
Keep your eyes fixed on where the trail meets the sky.
Live like you ain’t afraid to die.
Just sit back and enjoy your ride
- Chris Ledoux
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woodman
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Sourdough
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 1880
Re: Spring bear- what are they eating?
«
Reply #1 on:
June 04, 2014, 08:13:52 AM »
I have posted pictures of them eating grasses on the site recently. I also have found them tearing into stumps that are crawling with ants and such. I also am putting a picture here of some scat and a bear track right along side of it. The scat has berries in it. This picture was taken a couple of days ago.
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headshot5
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Sourdough
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 1396
Location: Port Orchard, WA
Re: Spring bear- what are they eating?
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Reply #2 on:
June 04, 2014, 08:17:52 AM »
Grasses, berries and trees. In the lowlands (costal) the salmonberries are ripening fast. Otherwise they are eating grasses, trees. Of course fawns and elk calves are getting hit pretty hard right now I imagine.
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h20hunter
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Legend
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 20872
Location: Lake Stevens
Re: Spring bear- what are they eating?
«
Reply #3 on:
June 04, 2014, 08:46:26 AM »
PM sent Rob....also, I've been seeing some salmon berries begin to look good as well as heard reports of bears going for more protien...tearing up stumps and what not. Some of the most sign I've personally seen is off the roads and into the timber where the bears are using the trails to go from area to area looking for food. If I was hunting I'd be looking for nice areas then bushwhacking a bit into the brush and super slow hunting the game trails.
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Rob
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Frontiersman
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Posts: 4828
Location: Sandpoint ID
Re: Spring bear- what are they eating?
«
Reply #4 on:
June 04, 2014, 09:11:57 AM »
Great info guys, I will pass this on.
H2O, thanks for the PM!
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_______________________________________
Sit tall in the saddle, hold you head up high.
Keep your eyes fixed on where the trail meets the sky.
Live like you ain’t afraid to die.
Just sit back and enjoy your ride
- Chris Ledoux
sled
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Location: Lake Stevens
Re: Spring bear- what are they eating?
«
Reply #5 on:
June 04, 2014, 04:15:31 PM »
I Have Recently Seen Some Poo. Looks Like Mainly Grass, Trees, And Have Seen Salmon Berry Bushes Picked Clean.
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billythekidrock
Varmint
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Posts: 13440
Re: Spring bear- what are they eating?
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Reply #6 on:
June 04, 2014, 04:58:35 PM »
One year in mid June I found a bear track on the edge of a logging road and followed it into the brush, taking pictures of everything it ate or encountered during it's meanderings. This was in the Capitol State Forest at 850 feet of elevation.
Here are some of the items it was feeding on.
Black Berry
Salmon Berry
Devils Club Seeds
Bear Poop w/ Salmon Berry & Devils Club
Torn Logs / Grubs & Bugs
Bee's Nest
Salal Buds
Currant?
Flower
Wild Rose
Blue Huckleberry
Red Huckleberry
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billythekidrock
Varmint
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Re: Spring bear- what are they eating?
«
Reply #7 on:
June 04, 2014, 05:10:32 PM »
These pics were taken at about 650 feet in the Capitol State Forest in early June of 2011.
These beds were within 40 yards of a grass patch.
Bear eaten grass.
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sled
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Frontiersman
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Location: Lake Stevens
Re: Spring bear- what are they eating?
«
Reply #8 on:
June 04, 2014, 05:18:30 PM »
Stomach contents From My Bear This Year. Grass, And cambium Layer.
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billythekidrock
Varmint
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Re: Spring bear- what are they eating?
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Reply #9 on:
June 04, 2014, 05:22:40 PM »
Mid June 2009 at 800 feet. These poo piles were found next to a bear bed on the edge of a clear cut.
Bear poo with fawn hoof.
Bear poo with fawn skull plate.
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billythekidrock
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Re: Spring bear- what are they eating?
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Reply #10 on:
June 04, 2014, 05:30:05 PM »
Spring bear guts from Capitol Forest end of May.
Cambium and grass.
Grass and flaggy.
Skagit spring bear mid May.
Grass and Salmon Berry blossoms.
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Rob
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Frontiersman
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 4828
Location: Sandpoint ID
Re: Spring bear- what are they eating?
«
Reply #11 on:
June 04, 2014, 07:38:05 PM »
Wow! That's the best data set of spring bear food I have come across. Thanks much!
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_______________________________________
Sit tall in the saddle, hold you head up high.
Keep your eyes fixed on where the trail meets the sky.
Live like you ain’t afraid to die.
Just sit back and enjoy your ride
- Chris Ledoux
Advertise Here
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