New research shows that female black bears mostly eat berries while males primarily ate ants. The researchers also observed that the diet of females changed depending upon the age of their cubs. (Image Credit: Bryan Wilkins, flickr.com)
Male and female black bears do not share the same diet, according to new findings. A research using GPS telemetry and scat analyses found that black bears’ diet depends on their sex and, for females, on their reproductive status.
In the same habitats, “females with cubs-of-the-year tended to…feed on bunchberry, whereas females with yearling foraged for blueberry and lone bears for ants”, observed researchers of University of Québec in Rimouski.
The team captured 20 black bears (six males and 14 females) and fitted them with GPS collars. They then surveyed GPS locations shortly after individual bear visits and collected 139 feces in 71 different locations.
This approach could help identify habitat types containing important food sources for endangered species.
Original research paper published in PLOS ONE on July 1, 2015.
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