top of page

BLACK BEAR DIET

Black bears are omnivores.  Insects and animal matter are less than 10% of the annual black bear diet around Ely and across most of North America.

Vegetation is the mainstay of a black bear’s diet. They follow different nutrient concentrations, eating different plants and plant parts in different seasons. For example, they eat Aspen Catkins in April and Aspen leaves in May.

Almost all natural bear foods are sustained by moisture.   Dry weather periods may cause a scarcity in natural food sources.  Drought.gov provides data on current and forecast moisture conditions.

What do bears eat.jpg

Information provided by the Wildlife Research Institute and members of the BearTeam

All seasons

bottom of page