Editing Bear (section)

===Feeding===
[[File:Giant Panda Tai Shan.JPG|thumb|left|[[Giant panda]] feeding on [[bamboo]] at [[Smithsonian National Zoological Park]], [[Washington, D. C.]] This species is almost entirely [[herbivorous]].]]

Most bears are opportunistic [[omnivore]]s and consume more plant than animal matter, and appear to have evolved from an ancestor which was a low-protein macronutrient omnivore.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1038/s41598-022-19742-z | title=Ursids evolved early and continuously to be low-protein macronutrient omnivores | year=2022 | last1=Robbins | first1=Charles T. | last2=Christian | first2=Amelia L. | last3=Vineyard | first3=Travis G. | last4=Thompson | first4=Debbie | last5=Knott | first5=Katrina K. | last6=Tollefson | first6=Troy N. | last7=Fidgett | first7=Andrea L. | last8=Wickersham | first8=Tryon A. | journal=Scientific Reports | volume=12 | issue=1 | page=15251 | pmid=36085304 | pmc=9463165 | bibcode=2022NatSR..1215251R }}</ref> They eat anything from leaves, roots, and [[berries]] to [[insect]]s, [[carrion]], fresh meat, and fish, and have digestive systems and teeth adapted to such a diet.<ref name="ServheenForeword"/> At the extremes are the almost entirely herbivorous giant panda and the mostly carnivorous polar bear. However, all bears feed on any food source that becomes seasonally available.<ref name="Ward83">{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|p=83}}</ref> For example, Asiatic black bears in [[Taiwan]] consume large numbers of [[acorn]]s when these are most common, and switch to [[ungulate]]s at other times of the year.<ref name="asiablackdiet">{{cite journal |last=Hwang |first=Mei-Hsiu |year=2002 |title=Diets of Asiatic black bears in Taiwan, with Methodological and Geographical Comparisons |url=http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_13/Hwang_13.pdf |journal=Ursus |volume=13 |pages=111–125 |access-date=2012-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723060824/http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_13/Hwang_13.pdf |archive-date=2013-07-23 |url-status=live }}</ref>

When foraging for plants, bears choose to eat them at the stage when they are at their most nutritious and digestible, typically avoiding older [[grass]]es, [[sedge]]s and leaves.<ref name="nps">{{cite web |title=Food Habits of Grizzly Bears and Black Bears in the Yellowstone Ecosystem |url=https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/bearfoods.htm |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=18 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128071843/https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/bearfoods.htm |archive-date=2017-01-28 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Ward83"/> Hence, in more northern temperate areas, browsing and grazing is more common early in spring and later becomes more restricted.<ref name="Mattson"/> Knowing when plants are ripe for eating is a learned behavior.<ref name="Ward83"/> Berries may be foraged in bushes or at the tops of trees, and bears try to maximize the number of berries consumed versus foliage.<ref name="Mattson"/> In autumn, some bear species forage large amounts of naturally [[fermentation|fermented]] fruits, which affects their behavior.<ref name="Rue1981">{{cite book |author=Rue, Leonard Lee |title=Furbearing Animals of North America |url=https://archive.org/details/furbearinganimal0000ruel |url-access=registration |year=1981 |publisher=Crown Publishers |isbn=978-0-517-53942-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/furbearinganimal0000ruel/page/129 129]}}</ref> Smaller bears climb trees to obtain [[mast (botany)|mast]] (edible reproductive parts, such as acorns).<ref name="diet">{{cite journal |last=Mattson |first=David J. |journal=Ursus |year=1998 |title=Diet and Morphology of Extant and Recently Extinct Northern Bears |volume=10 |pages=479–496 | jstor=3873160}}</ref> Such masts can be very important to the diets of these species, and mast failures may result in long-range movements by bears looking for alternative food sources.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ryan |first1=Christopher |year=2007 |title=Influence of mast production on black bear non-hunting mortalities in West Virginia | journal=Ursus |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=46–53 |doi=10.2192/1537-6176(2007)18[46:IOMPOB]2.0.CO;2 |last2=Pack |first2=James C. |last3=Igo |first3=William K. |last4=Billings |first4=Anthony|s2cid=59040812 }}</ref> Brown bears, with their powerful digging abilities, commonly eat roots.<ref name="Mattson"/> The panda's diet is over 99% bamboo,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lumpkin |first1=Susan |last2=Seidensticker |first2=John |title=Giant Pandas |publisher=Collins |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-06-120578-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/giantpandas0000seid/page/63 63] |url=https://archive.org/details/giantpandas0000seid/page/63 }}</ref> of 30 different species. Its strong jaws are adapted for crushing the tough stems of these plants, though they prefer to eat the more nutritious leaves.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|pp=89–92}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://lrrd.cipav.org.co/lrrd4/2/dolberg.htm |title=Progress in the utilization of urea-ammonia treated crop residues: biological and socio-economic aspects of animal production and application of the technology on small farms |last=Dolberg |first=Frands |date=1 August 1992 |publisher=University of Arhus |access-date=10 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707053325/http://lrrd.cipav.org.co/lrrd4/2/dolberg.htm |archive-date=2011-07-07 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Bromeliad]]s can make up to 50% of the diet of the spectacled bear, which also has strong jaws to bite them open.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|p=87}}</ref>
[[File:Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) with its prey.jpg|thumb|right|Polar bear feeding on a seal on an ice floe north of [[Svalbard]], Norway. It is the most carnivorous species.]]
The sloth bear is not as specialized as polar bears and the panda, has lost several front teeth usually seen in bears, and developed a long, suctioning tongue to feed on the [[ant]]s, [[termite]]s, and other burrowing insects. At certain times of the year, these insects can make up 90% of their diets.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Joshi |first1=Anup |year=1997 |title=Seasonal and Habitat-Related Diets of Sloth Bears in Nepal |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=1978 |issue=2 |pages=584–597 |doi=10.2307/1382910 |last2=Garshelis |first2=David L. |last3=Smith |first3=James L. D.|jstor=1382910 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Some individuals become addicted to sweets in garbage inside towns where tourism-related waste is generated throughout the year.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Prajapati|first1=Utkarsh|last2=Koli|first2=Vijay K.|last3=Sundar|first3=K.S. Gopi|date=2021|title=Vulnerable sloth bears are attracted to human food waste: a novel situation in Mount Abu town, India|journal=Oryx|volume=55|issue=5|pages=699–707|doi=10.1017/S0030605320000216|s2cid=233677898|doi-access=free}}</ref> Some species may raid the nests of [[wasp]]s and [[bee]]s for the [[honey]] and immature insects, in spite of stinging from the adults.<ref>{{cite web|title=What do bears like to eat in a beehive?|publisher=North American Bear Center|url=https://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/foraging-a-foods/206-what-do-bears-like-to-eat-in-a-beehive.html|access-date=5 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406110920/https://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/foraging-a-foods/206-what-do-bears-like-to-eat-in-a-beehive.html|archive-date=2017-04-06}}</ref> Sun bears use their long tongues to lick up both insects and honey.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|p=89}}</ref> Fish are an important source of food for some species, and brown bears in particular gather in large numbers at [[salmon run]]s. Typically, a bear plunges into the water and seizes a fish with its jaws or front paws. The preferred parts to eat are the brain and eggs. Small burrowing mammals like [[rodent]]s may be dug out and eaten.<ref name="Ward193"/><ref name="Mattson"/>

The brown bear and both species of black bears sometimes take large ungulates, such as [[deer]] and [[bovid]]s, mostly the young and weak.<ref name="asiablackdiet"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zager | first1=Peter |last2=Beecham |first2=John |year=2006 |title=The role of American black bears and brown bears as predators on ungulates in North America | journal=Ursus |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=95–108 |doi=10.2192/1537-6176(2006)17[95:TROABB]2.0.CO;2| s2cid=85857613 }}</ref><ref name="Ward193">{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|pp=93–98}}</ref> These animals may be taken by a short rush and ambush, though hiding young may be sniffed out and pounced on.<ref name="Mattson">{{cite web|author=Mattson, David|publisher=Southwest Biological Science Center|title=Foraging Behavior of North American Bears |url=http://sbsc.wr.usgs.gov/cprs/research/projects/grizzly/pdf/FORAGINGBEHAVIOROFNORTHAMERICANBEARS.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711074612/http://sbsc.wr.usgs.gov/cprs/research/projects/grizzly/pdf/FORAGINGBEHAVIOROFNORTHAMERICANBEARS.pdf|archive-date=11 July 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Animal Protein|publisher=North American bear Center|url=https://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/foraging-a-foods/84-animal-protein.html|access-date=22 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323142720/https://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/foraging-a-foods/84-animal-protein.html|archive-date=2017-03-23}}</ref> The polar bear mainly preys on seals, stalking them from the ice or breaking into their dens. They primarily eat the highly digestible blubber.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|p=92}}</ref><ref name="Ward193"/> Large mammalian prey is typically killed with raw strength, including bites and paw swipes, and bears do not display the specialized killing methods of felids and canids.<ref name=Sacco2004>{{cite journal|last1=Sacco|first1=T|last2=Van Valkenburgh|first2=B|year=2004|title=Ecomorphological indicators of feeding behaviour in the bears (Carnivora: Ursidae)|journal=Journal of Zoology|volume=263|issue=1|pages=41–54|doi=10.1017/S0952836904004856}}</ref> Predatory behavior in bears is typically taught to the young by the mother.<ref name="Ward193"/>

Bears are prolific [[scavenger]]s and [[kleptoparasite]]s, stealing food [[Hoarding (animal behavior)|caches]] from rodents, and carcasses from other predators.<ref name="nps"/><ref>{{cite web |author=COSEWIC. Canadian Wildlife Service |title=Assessment and Update Status Report on the Grizzly Bear (''Ursus arctos'') |publisher=[[Environment Canada]] |year=2002 |url=http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/CW69-14-166-2002E.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/CW69-14-166-2002E.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |access-date=8 April 2007 }}</ref> For hibernating species, weight gain is important as it provides nourishment during winter dormancy. A brown bear can eat {{cvt|41|kg}} of food and gain {{cvt|2|–|3|kg}} of fat a day prior to entering its den.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|p=104}}</ref>