What Do Bears Eat

“What Do Bears Eat”

Bear is an omnivorous animal, belongs to family Ursidae. As omnivorous, Bears eat meat as well as plant materials. Bears are found across the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bear lives in Asia, South America, Europe and North America. There are eight extinct bear species, in which giant panda mainly depend on bamboo for food and the polar bear in mainly a carnivore.

Types of Bears

The eight bear species are as follows:

·       North American Black Bear

·       Brown Bear

·       Polar Bear

·       Asiatic Black Bear

·       Andean Bear

·       Panda Bear

·       Sloth Bear

·       Sun Bear

Where Do Pandas Live

What do American Black Bears eat

American black bear is native to North America. As American black bear is an omnivorous animal, they eat plant materials as well as small or large animals. Generally American black bears eat roots, bulbs, tubers, grass, fruits and other vegetation. In the summer season, they mainly consume berries, buds and drupes. In the spring season, when the temperature becomes warmer, the American black bear prefers to eat new shoots and buds of different species of trees and shrubs which are very important for them because these vegetation helps them to rebuilding muscles and strengthening the skeleton after emerge from hibernation. During autumn, American black bears consuming plenty of food. This time their main diet is hard masts such as white-bark pine nuts, oak acorns. During this season a single American black bear can consume about hundreds nuts per day.

Where do Polar Bears Live

Huckleberries and buffalo berries become their important diet during the fall period.

The hungry American black bears catch the tree squirrels. American black bears also eat insects like yellow jackets, ants, bees and their larvae.

They like to eat honey. Their excellent sense of smell helps them to find out a beehive which is on the tree or deeply set into the tree trunk. When the bear sees a beehive or smell it, it tears the tree apart to get the hive and comb. They get protein from the brood but get a small amount of honey from the brood to eat.

The populations that living in the northern coastal regions, catch salmon fish to eat during the night because in the daytime the salmon fish can easily detect the bear’s black fur. They also catch trout, suckers, cat fish and any other fish they found.

During spring season, American black bears also hunt mule and white-tailed deer fawn, elk calves and moose. American black bears living in Labrador, are mostly carnivore. They hunt old injured or sick caribou. They also eat dead animals and rodents.

American black bears prefer to hunt the deer fawn, weak or injured deer in the herd. After hunting the animals, they tear them alive while eating. They like to eat in solitude.

American black bears also consume eggs and nestlings of different bird species including bald eagles.

American black bears living near the human settlements, get food from the humans such as honey, birdseeds, apiaries, refuse or agricultural products. During winter season, American black bears hibernate. This time they sleep deeply called “torpor”. During torpor, their breathing rate and also heart rate decrease and their body temperature become low slightly. They do not take food or water up to 100 days and also don’t passing body waste during this period. They have a special adaptation through which their pee turns into protein.

What do Brown Bears eat

Brown bear lives in Asia, Europe and North America. The populations living in North America are called grizzly bears. Brown bear is an omnivorous animal and take the greatest variety of food items than any other bear species. They are solitary animals. They spend most of their time to searching and eating food. They consume the food items which are available in their areas. Most brown bears are primarily herbivorous and get 90% of their food energy from vegetation.

Brown bears consume variety of seasonal vegetation like leaves, fruits, nuts, roots, grass, pine cones flowers, berries, mushrooms etc. They dig the ground with their strong and sharp claws to get the roots. In spring, Brown bears prefer to eat grass, moss, shoots as well as carrion. During summer season, fruits become the main diet of Brown bears. In summer, they consume a plenty of berries and apples. In autumn, their main food is nuts and plums. In the spring season, they also eat sedges, grass, moss, shoots as well as carrion.

Brown bears also regularly eat insects, grubs, larvae and beehive. The bears living in Yellowstone National Park in US, eat a lot of moths during summer, that may be more than forty thousand Army cutworm moth per day.

The populations that live near the coastal areas, catch the crabs, clams throughout the year. Brown bear in Alaska, dig the beach sand to catch the clams. They also catch salmon fish by using many fishing methods. Sometimes they wait and carefully watch the fish before pinning down the slippery salmon with their sharp claws.

 Brown bear do not climb the tree so they hunt the ground or rock nesting bird species. They eat bird eggs and nestlings.

As Brown bears are omnivorous their diet also consists of smaller mammals like marmots, mice, voles, ground squirrels, rats etc. Large mammals are also hunted by the Brown bear, including elk, wild boar, moose, bighorn sheep, caribou, mountain goats etc. Brown bears prefer to hunt the young animals which are easily to hunt. After catching the prey, Brown bear quickly tears it apart and eats alive. When they attack the larger prey such as adult bison, moose, Brown bears kill the creatures by breaking their neck and backbone with their powerful forearms. Brown bear also consume carrion, especially in the early spring, when they emerge from hibernation.

Brown Bears also attack the domestic livestock and also consume corn, sorghum, melons, grains from the farm.

What do Polar Bears eat

Polar bear is native to Arctic Circle and exclusively carnivorous bear species. Their main food is bearded seals. Polar bear still hunting method. They have excellent sense of smell that helps them to find out the seal breathing holes. After finding the breathing hole, Polar bear crouches nearby the hole silently, waiting for several hours for the seal to appear.

Polar bear can detect the seal with the smell of its breath and immediately digs the hole and drags out the seal on the surface of the ice with its forepaw and kill the seals.

When the seal takes rest on the ice, the Polar bear crawls to reach near the seal and suddenly attack it. After catching the seal, the Polar bear bites its head to kill it.

Adult Polar bear eat only the blubber and skin of the seals which are highly digestible and provide them high calories. The young Polar bears prefer to eat red meat. Polar bears also consume birds and their eggs and chicks. The young Polar bears also consume carcasses. After finishing their eating, the Polar bear clean themselves with snow or water. They also hunt harbour seal, harp seal or hooded seal. They rarely hunt walrus because the walrus is twice as heavy as a Polar bear. They also have very thick skin. Their long ivory tusks are about 1m long and a powerful weapon so Polar bear avoid the adult walrus to hunt. But Polar bear hunt injured weak walrus or calves by separating them from the pod.

 Beluga whales and narwhales are also hunted by the Polar bears. They also eat the blubber or skin of the dead whale or walrus.

Sometimes the Polar bear dive into the water to catch the fish such as fourhorn sculpin and Arctic charr.

During late summer and early fall, Polar bear are able to fast for several months because this time the sea becomes unfrozen so the Polar bear cannot hunt the seals.

Polar bears eat anything that they can find, including garbage as well as plastic, motor oil, car batteries hydraulic liquid etc.

Where do Polar Bears Live

What do Asian Black Bear eat

Asian black bear is endemic to Asia. As omnivorous, Asian bear eat bees, beetles, termites, ants and other insects and their eggs and larvae. Asian bears also consume grasses, nuts, fruits, honey, seeds, corn herbs, mushrooms, grain, cherries etc. They are more herbivorous than Brown bears and more carnivorous than American black bear. They are opportunistic animals. Asian black bears consume green vegetation and fruits from May to June month. As they are good climbers, Asian black bears climb the trees to access the pine cones, bird eggs, fruits, new leaves etc. During scarcity, they eat hazelnuts and insects, invertebrate and larvae from the river valley. This time they also consume carrion and several high calorie food items. The excess calories are stored as bodyfat that is used during hibernation.

In autumn, Asian black bears take much food to store calories. This time, they largely consume nuts from Fagaceae tree which give the bear highest protein. Their excellent sense of smell helps them to find the insects which are about 3 feet inside the ground.

Asian black bears eat anything which are available to them including domestic livestock. They regularly hunt domestic livestock. Asian black bears also hunt other wild ungulates such as wild boar, serow, water buffaloes, takin etc. They were also reported to hunt Hanuman langurs in Nepal for food and also documented to kill and eat water buffaloes. They kill the ungulates by breaking their neck with their strong paws.

Asian black bear also eat carrion and often eat the animals that were killed by other animals like tigers. They eat fish but rarely eat dead fish.

What do Andean Bears eat

The Spectacled bear or Andean bear is native to South America. The Andean bear is the most herbivorous and only 5% to 7% of their diet consists of meat. Generally, Andean bears eat bamboo, cactus, bromeliads, nuts, palm, fruits, orchid and newly grown palm leaves. They also eat the second layer of the tree bark by peeling the bark of the trees.

Andean bear is the second herbivorous bear species after panda. Andean bears also consume honey, sugarcane, maize, grains, corn etc. As the Andean bears are habitually arboreal, they climb up the tree to access berries. Their diet also consists of small animals including mice, rabbit, snails etc. Sometimes, they kill larger animals for food such as llamas, horses, cattle, deer etc. Andean bears also eat ground nesting birds like lapwings, tinamous etc. They also eat rodents, arthropods, insects like cricket, mealworm etc.

What Do Panda Bear eat

The giant panda or Panda bear is endemic to South Central China. Panda bear is a herbivorous animal. Their favorite food is bamboo shoots and leaves which make 99% of their diet menu. They can eat up to 14kg bamboo shoots in a single day. Panda bear consume about 25 species of bamboo including Fargesia rufa and Fargesia dracocephala which grow in central China. Bamboo leaves provide them protein. Although Panda bear is a herbivore but they also eat fish, meat, eggs etc.

 In captivity, Panda bear eat honey orange, banana, shrub leaves, yams along with special dietary supplements.

Where Do Pandas Live

What Do Sloth Bears eat

Sloth Bear is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. Sloth bear is an omnivorous animal. They eat fruits, ants, termites etc. Their excellent sense of smell helps them to locate termites or ants which are 3 feet beneath the earth. Sloth bears eat fruits, grass, leaves and other plant materials as well as carrion. They rarely hunt mammals. During summer, Sloth bears consume sugarcane, jackfruit, mango, fallen petals of mowha trees. Their favorite food is honey. The Sloth bears living in Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala, India, eat seeds of six tree species.

Where do Sloths Live

What Do Sun Bears eat

Sun Bear is native to tropical forests of Southeast Asia. As omnivorous, Sun bears eat meat and also plant materials. The Sun bears eat honey, bees, termites, ants, rodents, fruits, seeds and other vegetation. They occasionally consume bird eggs, birds, reptiles etc. Sun bears eat a large amount of figs. The bear eat termite so they break termite mounds and hold the broken mound pieces with their front paws to lick and suck the contents. The population of Sun bear living in the forests of Kalimantan, eat different fruit species like Myrtaceae, Moraceae and Burseraceae which make up 50% of their diet. During the scarcity of fruits, they mainly consume insects.