Content
- Are all bears carnivores?
- what the bear eats
- Do bears eat humans?
- hibernation of bears
- Curiosities about the feeding of bears
The bear is a mammal that belongs to the ursidae family, included in the order of carnivores. However, we will see that these large and amazing animals, which can be found on most continents, don't just eat meat. In fact, they have a very varied diet and it depends on several factors.
It is interesting to note that bears spend a great deal of time eating and do not discard much. what bears eat in the end? That's what you'll discover in this PeritoAnimal article. You will learn curious data about their diet, what each type of bear eats and other things more. Good reading!
Are all bears carnivores?
Yes, all bears are carnivores, but they don't feed exclusively on other animals. the bears are omnivorous animals, as they eat animal and plant species. Therefore its digestive system, which is adapted to a wide variety of foods, is not as extensive as that of purely herbivorous animals, nor as short as that of solely carnivorous animals, as the bear's intestines are of medium length.
However, these animals need to feed continuously, because not all the food they eat can be digested. When it also feeds on plants and fruits, its teeth are not as sharp as those of other wild carnivores, but they do have very prominent canines and large molars they use to shred and chew food.
what the bear eats
As good carnivores, they normally consume all kinds of food, both animal and vegetable matter. However, they are considered opportunistic, since their diet depends on where each species lives and the resources available in those places. Thus, a polar bear's diet is based only on animal species, as in the Arctic they cannot access plant species. Meanwhile, a brown bear has at its disposal a wide variety of plants and animals, as it lives in forested areas with access to rivers. In this section, we can get to know what the bear eats according to species:
- Brown bear (Ursus arctos): their diet is very varied and includes fish, some insects, birds, fruits, grass, cattle, hares, rabbits, amphibians, etc.
- Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus): their food is basically carnivorous, as they only have access to animals that live in the Arctic, such as walruses, belugas and seals, mainly.
- Panda bear (Ailuropoda melanoleuca): as they inhabit wooded areas in China, where bamboo is abundant, bamboo becomes their main food. However, they can also sometimes ingest insects.
- Malay bear (Malayan Helarctos): These bears inhabit the warm forests of Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo and Malaysia, where they feed especially on small reptiles, mammals, fruits and honey.
Many people believe that bears are in love with honey. And yes, they might like this bee-produced product a lot. But this fame came mainly because of two well-known characters from the world of cartoons: the Winnie the Pooh and Joe Bee. And as we have already seen, both the brown bear and the Malay bear include honey in their diet, if it is within their reach. There are some bears that even climb trees after hives.
If you want to know more about the characteristics of these and other bear species, don't hesitate to read the article Bear Types - Species and Characteristics.
Do bears eat humans?
Due to the large size of bears and their varied diet, it is not uncommon to wonder if these animals can also devour humans. Given the fear of many people, it should be noted that man is not a food that is part of the usual diet of bears.
However, one must always be careful if we are close to these large animals, as there is evidence that they have sometimes attacked and/or hunted human beings. The main reason for most attacks has been the need to protect your puppies and your territory. However, in the case of the polar bear, it is understandable that it has more predatory instincts, as if it has never lived close to people it will have no fear of trying to hunt them, especially when its usual food may be scarce in nature.
hibernation of bears
Not all bears hibernate and there are even many questions about which species hibernate or not. This skill was developed among bears so that they can face the weather adversities in winter and its consequences, such as food shortages in a very cold season.
You black bears they are normally associated with hibernation, but other animals do as well, such as some species of hedgehogs, bats, squirrels, rats and marmots.
Hibernation is a state in which there is a decreased metabolism, in which animals are able to go without eating, urinating and defecating for long periods. For this, they eat a large amount of food, accumulating fat and, consequently, energy.
According to a survey conducted by the University of Alaska in the United States[1], the metabolism of black bears, for example, is reduced to only 25% of its capacity during winter hibernation and the body temperature is reduced to an average of 6°C. This makes your body consume less energy. Among black bears, the hibernation period can vary from five to seven months.
Curiosities about the feeding of bears
Since you already know what bears eat, this data about their food can be very interesting:
- Among the fish most consumed by bears, it stands out the salmon. Bears use their large claws to capture and eat them at great speed.
- Although most animal species they hunt are small, there are cases where they consume deer and moose.
- Have a long tongue they use to extract honey.
- Depending on the time of year and where the bears live, the amount of food they consume is different. So these animals usually consume more food than they need in order to survive in times of food scarcity.
- present very long claws to dig and find food underground (insects, for example). These are also used for climbing trees and hunting prey.
- bears use the smell, which is highly developed, to sense its prey from great distances.
- In some regions where the bear lives close to human populations, there have been cases where these animals have been seen feeding on grass on golf courses.
- Bears can dedicate about 12 hours a day for food intake.
Now that you are an expert or an expert on course feed, find out in this video from our YouTube channel eight kinds of wild bears:
If you want to read more articles similar to What do bears eat?, we recommend that you enter our Balanced Diets section.