Bears as Predators ~

[brotherbear]

Yellowstone Bears in the Wild by James C. Halfpenny.


Scavenging is safer than predation, and with their great ability to smell, bears are very adept at locating carcasses. Mattson estimates that 57% of elk, 54% of moose, and 96% of bison meat consumed by bears comes from scavenging. Most of the scavenged meat is adult bison, elk less than 24 months of age, and adult elk. Interestingly, scavenging provides grizzlies with essentially the same amount of meat as they obtain by predation. Reply