What do bears eat?

[jtmoose]

Hi, I'm new to all hunting and was wondering if bear migrate to lower elevations this late in the season after all the berries are gone?  Do they eat fish in the rivers such as Clearwater creek/ lewis river, etc?  I've heard they like acorns, do oak trees even grow in SW Washington?

[Jonathan_S]

Wow...lots to answer there 

Welcome to the site and to hunting.  Those questions can only be answered circumstantially.  The only good way to reliably answer the question of "what do bears eat?" is to find bear sign in the area and pick through it.

Depending on the area and available food/time of year, bears eat grass, berries, chokecherries, acorns, apples, pears, roots, mice, ants, termites, mushrooms, fish, garbage, elk calves, deer fawns, and even other bears.

Yep there are oak trees down along the Columbia

[Shank]

I'm pretty sure bears feast on people...pretty sure of it.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[Curly]

Here is a little story to help show you what bears eat:

Some people advise others to wear little bells on their clothes so they make noise when hiking. The bell noise allows bears to hear them coming from a distance and not be startled by a hiker accidentally sneaking up on them. This might cause a bear to charge.

You should also carry a pepper spray can just in case a bear is encountered. Spraying the pepper into the air will irritate the bear's sensitive nose and it will run away.
It is also a good idea to keep an eye out for fresh bear scat so you have an idea if bears are in the area. People should be able to recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear scat.

Black bear droppings are smaller and often contain berries, leaves, and possibly bits of fur. Grizzly bear droppings tend to contain small bells and smell of pepper.


 

[Hilltop123]

All joking aside, bear are omnivores. Meaning they will everything from grass to roadkill. Other than seasonal favorites, berries, fruits,nuts and young easily caught animals there is not much a bear won't eat or at least try to eat.

[tgomez]

Some foods: grasses, berries, deer, fish, bugs, nuts, and apples are some of bears natural foods. As mentioned above they will eat just about anything they can get to.

[jpharcher]

Right about now around Hood Canal they are chowing on huckleberries....and I mean chowing based on all the piles I saw yesterday

[bowhunterwa87]

Honey

[runamuk]

Bears are opportunistic omnivores so like humans they will eat almost anything.  Look around and see what is growing roots, fungus, berries, fruit, and yes fish, fawns, rodents, trash from cans, bird seed, dog and cat food, you name it they eat it.

[2labs]

Apple fritters!

[runamuk]

Apple fritters!

NO I get the apple fritters the bears can eat something else.

[wadu1]

Apple fritters!

NO I get the apple fritters the bears can eat something else.

How true - LOL so funny 

[Blacktail Sniper]

They also like to rip apart rotting logs & stumps for ants, grubs, etc.

They will lick maggotts off dead critters they come across, eat the dead critters and gut piles, they will trash bee hives, and pretty much all that has been already listed if they can find it.

For some reason, they don't like bananas....

[runamuk]

They also like to rip apart rotting logs & stumps for ants, grubs, etc.

They will lick maggotts off dead critters they come across, eat the dead critters and gut piles, they will trash bee hives, and pretty much all that has been already listed if they can find it.

For some reason, they don't like bananas....

what the what  so is there a study on this  because that is just weird unless they hang out with fishermen who also say bad things about bananas. Then again are there any species of bears in banana growing regions hmmmmm seems strange seeing as they will eat hot dogs and doughnuts which dont grow in the wilds. 

[2labs]

I'm with run, banana bread..... Scarf
Bet money on that one.

[BOWHUNTER45]

The bear I killed a week ago was up high and was only eating grass ...that is super weird to me since they are usually eating Blueberries and Oregon grapes ...which I seen neither of this year ...

[Hilltop123]

They also like to rip apart rotting logs & stumps for ants, grubs, etc.

They will lick maggotts off dead critters they come across, eat the dead critters and gut piles, they will trash bee hives, and pretty much all that has been already listed if they can find it.

For some reason, they don't like bananas....

what the what  so is there a study on this  because that is just weird unless they hang out with fishermen who also say bad things about bananas. Then again are there any species of bears in banana growing regions hmmmmm seems strange seeing as they will eat hot dogs and doughnuts which dont grow in the wilds. 

In my my best Cliff impersonation, " It's a little known fact :  The Banana, was cast off Mt. Olympus as Zeus realized he was in direct completion, with the yellow phallic symbol. Since then bananas, have been the symbol of failure. Fishermen and hunter to this day refuse to have them on their traveling vessels, in fear of coming back home empty handed."         

[Blacktail Sniper]

I'm with run, banana bread..... Scarf
Bet money on that one.

True.

But, Banana bread is not a raw, unpeeled banana...

[runamuk]

They also like to rip apart rotting logs & stumps for ants, grubs, etc.

They will lick maggotts off dead critters they come across, eat the dead critters and gut piles, they will trash bee hives, and pretty much all that has been already listed if they can find it.

For some reason, they don't like bananas....

what the what  so is there a study on this  because that is just weird unless they hang out with fishermen who also say bad things about bananas. Then again are there any species of bears in banana growing regions hmmmmm seems strange seeing as they will eat hot dogs and doughnuts which dont grow in the wilds. 

In my my best Cliff impersonation, " It's a little known fact :  The Banana, was cast off Mt. Olympus as Zeus realized he was in direct completion, with the yellow phallic symbol. Since then bananas, have been the symbol of failure. Fishermen and hunter to this day refuse to have them on their traveling vessels, in fear of coming back home empty handed."       

This tale totally believable and explains a LOT thank you for the story the elders would be pleased 

[jtmoose]

Do they wander around eating and sleeping where they fall or do they eat within a range of a den?  I've always heard, to find X animal, find a food, water, and shelter.  If they eat everything, hearing, "find a food source" doesn't help find them much.  Seems like trying to find shelter and water would be better scout for.

[The Gobble-stopper]

I ran into a bear in Jellystone one day. I think the locals called him Yogi, he had a friend named Boo boo, and all they did was steal picnic baskets! 

[Jellymon]

Kayaks.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nU5cMZymSr0

[billythekidrock]

Right now they are feeding on Evergreen Huckleberry and what is left of the Salal berries in my area on the westside. They will browse on mushrooms and other plants as well.

[KFhunter]

I think some of them are heading back up higher elevation over here, eating the fall green up grasses slowing down their digestive systems and getting ready for bed.   I'd hunt them a lot like I would early spring bear.

Some might be savaging deer carcasses but the yotes mostly claim that.