Why Successful Hunters Understand Black Bear Ecology

When it comes to food black bears are by nature opportunistic and will eat what is available.That said at times they travel miles hunting foods that their body craves. Most of us know what foods bears eat at certain times of the year but how many know why they need these foods at given times? Whether you hunt them over bait or spot & stalk knowledge of black bears biology and ecology are essential to a successful hunt. So if you want that trophy black bear or want to add extra meat to your freezer study and learn all you can.

A bears life starts new each spring when he comes out of hibernation and leaves his den. He has just spent months living of body fat and urine that has been recycled into amino acids. He has not urinated or defecated in months so he probably not just head out and pick up life where he left off the previous fall. Instead he is going hang out around his den while he gets his system back to normal. He does this by eating what ever grasses he finds around the den area which are high in the fiber he needs, by drinking a lot of water help loosen up the plug that has been holding thing in all winter and laying around soaking up the sun letting his body do what needs done. During his time in his den the callouses on his foot pads have worn off and his feet are tender that to slows his wandering. After a few day of recuperating his body gets back on track and he start feeling more like his old self so now it's off to find some real food and members of the opposite sex.

Spring and early summer when plants are popping out leaves just before they flower are at their highest protein content now is a time for growth. Over the next few weeks they gorge on plants rich in protein, carrion, insects & grubs, and what ever game they are able to take. If the bear is a large boar he will take a moose calf or two. Black bears especially large boars are very effective predators. All of these give him the protein his body needs for growing new muscle and bone. Spring and early summer is also the time bears breed. Bears will pair up and bred for  few days then go on their separate ways. Both boars and sows may breed with several different partners during the season. A sow has delayed plantation that means the embryo will not attach to the uterus  wall  until fall when she has denned up for the winter. She also has some other unique features. The sow lives off body fat and amino acids from her urine so if she has not reached an optimum weight when she goes to her den in the fall the embryo will not attach to the uterus wall. This will increase her chance of surviving the winter by not feeding a cub that will probably die before spring.

As summer progresses the bears diet makes a transition from protein to carbohydrates high in sugars and fat. When the berries and hard mast crops come into season black bears diet changes from growth to packing on body fat that will get it through the coming winter. The sugar content of berries are the perfect food for creating fat. In a good year a bear will nearly double his weight from berries and hard mast alone, without this extra fat  bear will not survive the winter. If the bear is a pregnant sow it is important that she reaches optimum weight or  embryo will not attach to the uterus wall and will be aborted. From now until the bear dens up for the winter its sole purpose in life will be to get fat. Fat that will feed them and in the case of a pregnant sow her cubs though the long winter.