When it comes to expert anglers, you might be surprised to learn that one of the very best isn’t even a human at all — it’s a bear! As this YouTube video shows, black bears are incredibly skilled at fishing. Despite their large, furry bodies, they can move with surprising stealth and grace before striking at an unsuspecting fish.
A Black Bear’s Buffet
Black bears can have black, brown, blond, white-bluish, or cinnamon-colored fur.
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North American black bears (Ursus americanus) are generally solitary animals, except for mothers with cubs and pairs during mating season. Sometimes, several bears will gather in areas with abundant food, but they only tolerate each other’s presence because there is enough to eat.
As omnivores, black bears eat both plants and animals. Despite their large size, their diet mainly consists of fruit, berries, grass-like plants, and insects. Occasionally, they supplement their diet with honeycomb, fish, and in the spring, young deer.
Preparing for Winter
Black bears are smaller than brown bears and grizzlies.
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A black bear, especially one preparing for winter, needs to eat a lot to sustain itself. While black bears don’t undergo true hibernation, they enter a similar state called torpor. During torpor, their metabolism and body temperature decrease, and they don’t need to eat or drink. However, this state is lighter than true hibernation, so bears can wake up if they sense a threat.
Since they don’t eat or drink during torpor, black bears must eat as much as possible in the fall to build up reserves for winter. During this time, they eat constantly, sometimes throughout the day and into the night. They may also act more aggressively toward other bears and tend to stay near reliable food sources, such as streams or rivers with abundant salmon.
Why Salmon is Key for Black Bears
Black bears are typically 4 to 7 feet long.
©YouTube/Taylor Thomas Albright – Original
Each year, salmon migrate from their ocean habitats to the freshwater rivers where they were born. Here, they spawn, laying eggs in creeks and gravel beds, which kickstart the next generation of salmon. Salmon migrations are massive, making freshwater rivers ideal for black bears to find a high-calorie feast.
Salmon are rich in fat and nutrients, which makes them an ideal food source for bears preparing for their long winter torpor. Some bears eat salmon eggs, while others target the fish’s head, as these parts are packed with fats and other vital nutrients. This is especially important for female bears, who need to eat enough to sustain themselves and their future cubs.
Black Bear Fishing Skills
Black bears primarily use their incredible sense of smell to find food, but they also have excellent eyesight.
©YouTube/Taylor Thomas Albright – Original
During the salmon run, black bears gather along streams and rivers, actively fishing for salmon, using a variety of clever methods:
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Ambush: The bear in the YouTube video uses an ambush approach. Blending in with the dark rocks, the bear can strike out unexpectedly to snatch an unsuspecting fish.
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Waterfall snatching: Other bears wait along the edges of small waterfalls and pluck fish out of the air as they jump upstream.
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Water wading: Many bears simply walk out into the water and grab fish as they swim by.
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Diving: Although less common, some bears even dive into the water and swim as they hunt for fish.
Protecting Black Bear and Salmon Habitats
In freshwater, a black bear can swim for at least a mile and a half.
©YouTube/Taylor Thomas Albright – Original
Salmon and black bears are intrinsically linked within their ecosystem. Salmon provide essential food and nutrients for bears, but the bears don’t eat every part of the fish. The leftover carcasses offer a food source for scavengers and help disperse nutrients into the soil and plants. In addition, bears also help plant growth by dispersing seeds and influencing the populations of small mammals, deer, moose, and sometimes even other predators. Ultimately, protecting black bear and salmon habitats is essential for the health of the entire ecosystem.
Unfortunately, many factors threaten this delicate balance, making conservation and habitat protection crucial for the health of both black bears and salmon. Because of their interconnected relationship, protecting one species often helps protect the other. Both black bears and salmon, along with their ecosystems, face major threats from human development, habitat loss, and climate change.
Changes in weather and temperature directly affect how plants grow. Since black bears primarily eat plants and insects, a reduction in these food sources can change their behavior. It often forces them to travel farther to find food, sometimes making them bold enough to search in human settlements, which can lead to conflicts between bears and people. Additionally, human activities such as construction, logging, and tourism also influence black bear behavior.
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