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Brown Bear Dietary Habits

Contrary to popular belief, grizzly bears are not predominantly carnivorous. They are essentially omnivorous, eating plants and berries as well as fish and other animals. Read on to learn more about the diet of grizzly bears.

food for thought

Brown bears have adapted well to their environment, but due to their large size they spend much of their time foraging for food. They roam a myriad of habitats throughout the seasons, searching for sustenance to move on. Plants actually make up the best part of their diet, and while vegetation doesn’t provide the same calories as meat, it is a much more reliable food source.

Fish and meat, however, are the most nutritious food source for grizzlies, providing much-needed fat and protein. In some inland habitats, they rely on carrion as a source of meat, but in others they have become highly adept at hunting elk, elk, deer, and caribou. In coastal regions where salmon, suckers and other fish spawn, they serve as an alternative food source.

Seasonal variations in diet

When bears wake up from hibernation and venture out into the spring sunshine, food is often scarce. Naturally, they are hungry at this time, but the trees are still bare from winter, and at higher altitudes, the grass has not yet begun to grow. At this time they have to forage on sunny south-facing slopes or forage for dead carrion during the winter. They tend to lose weight in the spring and continue to do so until June.

Once the days begin to lengthen, the snow melts and the vegetation flourishes. Grizzlies seek out areas of lush vegetation along riverbanks, in wetland areas, forests, and parks. During the summer, they dig for ants and beetle larvae, and once the berries begin to ripen in late July, they become the high-energy food of choice, with animals even heading to urban areas to feast. feast on fruit trees and berry bushes.

Autumn is a time when bears should consume as much as possible, in order to accumulate as much body fat as possible to store energy for their hibernation. As winter sets in, food sources dwindle and they must focus their efforts on the roots and vegetation they find around the water, as the plants here are the last to die. They will also wander for many miles in search of carrion.

November and December see grizzly bears heading to their winter dens. At lower latitudes where food is plentiful, they do not need to hibernate, but those that retreat for the winter eat nothing until they emerge again in spring.