What Do Bears Eat?

Bears are incredibly diverse omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and animals. Depending on the species and sometimes location, bears consume an amazingly wide range of foods, making them one of the most adaptable mammalian species out there.

Vegetarian and Frugivorous Bears

Some bears are almost entirely vegetarian and gain the majority of their sustenance by eating fruit, leaves, and grasses, as well as acorns, berries, and beech nuts. Giant pandas are one of the most notable examples of bears that feed mostly on plants, with 99% of their diet consisting of bamboo and other less nutritious vegetation. Other frugivorous bears include sloth bears, black bears, and sun bears.

Carnivorous Bears

Diet is actually one of the ways you can distinguish between the different types of bears. In the case of carnivorous species, the Arctic and Kodiak bears are the only two representations of their kind. These bears hunt for fish and seals in order to get their protein and are adept at tool usage (for instance, using large rocks to break through ice in order to catch their prey).

Scavenging

Although not strictly carnivorous, some bears also practice scavenging. This means they feed by eating other animals they did not hunt and can sometimes include sustenance from animals they’ve killed themselves. Depending on their surroundings, brown bears may contain a significant scavenging component to their diet. This helps to take advantage of leftovers from predators in the area who’ve already eaten their fill. Polar bears are also notorious scavengers and sometimes eat whale carcasses and the remains of other marine animals.

Looking at the broad range of food sources these incredible animals can tap into, even if its not their preferred fare, it’s no wonder that bears are one of nature’s most adaptable survivors!