Some important foods:

● GREENS - Literally dozens of species of green vegetation make up the bulk of the bears’ diet, in terms of total weight consumed. Nutritional value may be less than many other foods, but at the time of consumption greens are clearly the best choice for the bear. A few preferred ones are aspen and beech buds in early spring, sedges, clover, and jewelweed.

● BERRIES - Strawberries are typically the first berry available to bears in early summer, and are high in carbs. Raspberries are also a very important source of carbs and are quite well distributed across bear range. Blackberries are not readily available across large portions of Maine. Blueberries are not well distributed over parts of Maine, but are a clear bear favorite where available. Bristly Sarsaparilla, sometimes called “bear berry”, is especially prominent Downeast, and bears focus intently on them for a week or so in late summer. Wild cherries (primarily chokecherries and pin or fire cherries) are a favored food. Mountain ash berries are a very important late fall food when abundant in the northern part of the state. Cranberries are the latest (time-wise) of the preferred berries. Apples, both wild and cultivated, are also very desirable, although few bears have access to them.

● INSECTS - Colonial insects and their eggs or larvae, primarily certain ant species but also bees, wasps, and hornets, are an important bear food. Insect larvae is high in protein, and very digestible. The honey in a beehive is valuable to bears, but the brood comb containing the developing bee larvae is also a target. They also eat many species of non-colonial insects and grubs, like June bug larvae that are particularly abundant during some years under the sod in lawns.

● HARD MAST – Wild mast is an important food, but crops often vary from year to year and place to place. Beaked hazelnuts are well distributed across Maine’s bear range, and beechnuts are readily eaten, but are not a reliable food source, as many years very few are available. Also, many of our beech trees are succumbing to a bark disease. Acorns are available as an alternate to some bears in Maine.

● MEAT - Meat is a high energy food, and bears take advantage of it when available. Scavenging winter-killed animals is their greatest opportunity, but they must compete for this resource with other scavengers. We know they prey on deer fawns and moose calves, and also preyed on at least some of the fully grown caribou released by the Maine Caribou Reintroduction Project. Livestock are also sometimes killed but cannot be considered a significant source of food for most bears. The importance of meat sources like beaver, birds and their eggs, frogs, turtles, etc., is not well understood but contributes to most bears’ diets.

● CROPS - Sweet corn is very attractive to bears as well in late summer, but like apples, many bears will never see an ear of corn. Oats are a more commonly raided grain crop.