This time of year, black bears are always looking for food.
But it’s also the time of year when cubs are discovering their world after being born over the winter in their mother’s den.
BDN Contributor Allie Ladd caught these bear videos. One is a good-sized bear, wandering around the woods, presumably looking for food. The other is a mom, also known as a sow, and her cubs, whose curiosity causes the game camera to end up cockeyed.
This time of year, bears look for berries, insects such as ants and bees, clover, grass,fuit and carrion. They also find backyard bird feeders very handy. Once a bear starts visiting your backyard, you may as well bring in your bird feeders until the bruins den up for the winter.
Bears are opportunistic feeders and will keep returning to easy food sources. Garbage should be secured for the same reasons that bird feeders should be brought in. The bears will keep visiting when they discover they have easy access to it.
They also will prey on deer and moose calves in the spring if given the opportunity, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Bears are not really predators. They just take advantage of what they come across.
In the fall, bears will eat beechnuts, acorns and hazelnuts, as well as other tasty vegetation.
