What Do Black Bears Eat? Black Bear Diet Through the Year

A mostly plant-based omnivore

The American black bear is a member of the order Carnivora, the same group as wolves and cats, but its teeth and habits tell another story. Its back teeth are broad and flat for crushing plants, and studies across North America find that vegetation commonly makes up 75–85% of its diet.

Black bears are not good at digesting tough, fibrous plants, so they choose foods at their most tender or energy-rich stage: fresh shoots in spring, ripe fruit in summer and fatty nuts in autumn. They also dig less than grizzly bears, eating far fewer roots and bulbs. For the differences between the two, see grizzly bear vs black bear.

What do black bears eat in spring?

Spring is the leanest season. Bears leave their dens with little fat left, and many keep losing weight for several weeks. Their first meals are often carrion: deer, elk or moose that died during the winter.

As the snow melts, they graze on new grasses, sedges, clover, dandelions, skunk cabbage and other wetland plants, and they strip fresh buds, catkins and young leaves from aspens and other trees. These foods are low in calories but easy to digest.

Late spring and early summer bring an important source of protein: newborn deer, elk and moose calves. Fawns hide motionless in vegetation for their first days, and a bear may stumble on one by scent while foraging. Once fawns are about 10 days old they can usually outrun bears. In some areas, such as parts of Minnesota, Alaska and Idaho, black bears are among the main natural causes of death for young fawns, elk calves and moose calves, but the effect lasts only a few weeks each year.

What do black bears eat in summer?

Summer is the season of insects and soft fruit. Black bears tear apart rotting logs and stumps and turn over rocks to reach ants, ant larvae, beetle grubs and termites. They dig up wasp and bee nests to eat the protein-rich larvae, and they will happily eat the honey too. Their thick fur protects them from most stings.

As the season goes on, fruit takes over: strawberries, serviceberries, blueberries, huckleberries, raspberries, blackberries, wild cherries and many more. A good berry crop can make the difference between a bear that breeds successfully and one that does not.

What do black bears eat in autumn?

In autumn black bears enter hyperphagia, a period of almost nonstop eating that builds the fat they need for winter. A bear may feed for up to 20 hours a day and take in 20,000 calories or more, gaining well over 1 kg (2 lb) a day.

The most important autumn foods are hard mast: acorns, beechnuts, hickory nuts, hazelnuts and, in the Rocky Mountains, pine nuts. Black bears also eat late berries, apples and other fruit, and some raid the nut stores of squirrels. When acorns or beechnuts fail, bears travel much farther than usual and are more likely to show up near homes and farms. All this fat fuels the winter den, which you can read about in do bears hibernate?

Do black bears eat meat and fish?

Yes, but meat is usually a small part of the menu. Besides fawns and carrion, black bears eat bird eggs and nestlings, small rodents and the occasional larger animal. Hunting adult deer or moose is rare.

Fish matter in some places. Black bears along the Pacific coast of Alaska and British Columbia catch spawning salmon in autumn, and white “spirit bears” are more successful at catching salmon in daylight than black-furred bears. In northern Labrador, where plant food is scarce, black bears rely heavily on caribou and voles, making them unusually meat-eating for their species.

Why black bears raid garbage and bird feeders

Human food is irresistible to a bear. Garbage, bird seed, suet, pet food, barbecue grease, compost, fruit trees, beehives and corn fields all offer far more calories in one place than a bear can find in the forest. Studies in Nevada found that bears living near towns were noticeably heavier than bears in wild country.

The problem is that bears quickly learn where these foods are, become bolder around people and sometimes break into cars, sheds and homes. Such bears are often relocated or killed, which is why wildlife agencies say “a fed bear is a dead bear.” Keeping garbage and feeders out of reach and never feeding bears protects both bears and people.