Editing Brown bear (section)

===Dietary habits===
{{Main|Dietary biology of the brown bear}}
[[File:Brooks Falls Katmai National Park.jpg|thumb|upright|Brown bear hunting [[salmon]]]]

The brown bear is one of the most [[omnivorous]] animals and has been recorded as consuming the greatest variety of foods of any bear.<ref name="Hunter"/> Despite their reputation, most brown bears are not highly carnivorous, as they derive up to 90% of their dietary [[food energy]] from vegetable matter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dced.state.ak.us/oed/student_info/learn/bearwatching.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415202025/http://www.dced.state.ak.us/oed/student_info/learn/bearwatching.htm |archive-date=15 April 2009 |title=Alaska is bear territory!|work=Alaska Office of Economic Development |publisher=Dced.state.ak.us |access-date=10 October 2009}}</ref> They often feed on a variety of plant life, including [[Berry|berries]], grasses, [[flower]]s, [[acorn]]s, and [[pine cone]]s, as well as fungi such as [[mushroom]]s.<ref name="pasitschniak-arts1993mamsp"></ref> Among all bears, brown bears are uniquely equipped to dig for tough foods such as [[root]]s, [[bulb]]s,<ref name="Ursus arctos Brown bear">{{Cite web|url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ursus_arctos/|title=Ursus arctos (Brown bear)|website=[[Animal Diversity Web]]|access-date=28 May 2021|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513130048/http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ursus_arctos/|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Shoot (botany)|shoot]]s. They use their long, strong claws to dig out earth to reach roots and their powerful jaws to bite through them.<ref name="pasitschniak-arts1993mamsp"></ref> In spring, winter-provided carrion, grasses, shoots, [[Carex|sedges]], [[moss]],<ref name="Ursus arctos Brown bear"/> and [[forb]]s are the dietary mainstays for brown bears internationally.<ref name="Hunter"/> Fruits, including berries, become increasingly important during summer and early autumn. Roots and bulbs become critical in autumn for some inland bear populations if fruit crops are poor.<ref name="Hunter"/>

[[File:A grizzly bear digs for food along the park road near the Sable Pass closure sign on Sept. 1, 2019. (6f96b20b-a076-46dc-be8f-c867d144305f).JPG|thumb|Brown bear digging for squirrels|left]]

They will also commonly consume animal matter, which in summer and autumn may regularly be in the form of insects, [[larvae]], and [[Larva|grubs]], including [[beehive]]s. Bears in Yellowstone eat an enormous number of [[moth]]s during the summer, sometimes as many as 40,000 [[army cutworm]] moths in a single day, and may derive up to half of their annual food energy from these insects.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yellowstonepark.com/MoreToKnow/ShowNewsDetails.aspx?newsid=163 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715011549/http://www.yellowstonepark.com/moretoknow/shownewsdetails.aspx?newsid=163 |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 July 2010 |title=Yellowstone Grizzly Bears Eat 40,000 Moths a Day In August |publisher=Yellowstonepark.com |date=21 June 2011}}</ref> Brown bears living near coastal regions will regularly eat crabs and [[clam]]s. In Alaska, bears along the beaches of estuaries regularly dig through the sand for clams.<ref name="brown"/> This species may eat birds and their [[Egg (biology)|egg]]s, including almost entirely ground- or rock-nesting species.<ref name="brown"/> The diet may be supplemented by [[rodent]]s or similar small [[mammal]]s, including [[marmot]]s, [[ground squirrel]]s, [[Mouse|mice]], rats, [[lemming]]s, and [[vole]]s.<ref name="pasitschniak-arts1993mamsp"></ref> With particular regularity, bears in [[Denali National Park]] will wait at burrows of [[Arctic ground squirrel]]s, hoping to pick off a few of those {{convert|1|kg|lb|abbr=on}} rodents.<ref name="Brown">{{cite web |last=Brown |first=Susan A. |title=Inherited behavior traits of the domesticated ferret |url=http://www.weaselwords.com/page/ferret_art036.php |date=17 January 2010 |orig-date=2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091004091445/http://www.weaselwords.com/page/ferret_art036.php |archive-date=4 October 2009 |url-status=live |magazine=Off the Paw |issue=November/December 2002 |via=WeaselWords.com |access-date=16 October 2024}}</ref>

In the Kamchatka peninsula and several parts of coastal Alaska, brown bears feed mostly on spawning [[salmon]], whose nutrition and abundance explain the enormous size of the bears in those areas. The fishing techniques of bears are well-documented. They often congregate around falls when the salmon are forced to breach the water, at which point the bears will try to catch the fish in mid-air (often with their mouths). They will also wade into shallow water, hoping to pin a slippery salmon with their claws. While they may eat almost all the parts of the fish, bears at the peak of salmon spawning, when there is usually a glut of fish to feed on, may eat only the most nutrious parts of the salmon (including the eggs and head) and then indifferently leave the rest of the carcass to scavengers, which can include [[red fox]]es, [[bald eagle]]s, [[common raven]]s, and [[gull]]s. Despite their normally solitary habits, brown bears will gather closely in numbers at good spawning sites. The largest and most powerful males claim the most fruitful fishing spots and will sometimes fight over the rights to them.<ref name="brown"/>

[[File:Moose mom with calves and a bear, Deanli National Park.png|thumb|A cow moose with calves being approached by an inland brown bear, [[Denali National Park]], Alaska]]

Beyond the regular predation of salmon, most brown bears are not particularly active predators.<ref name="brown"/> While perhaps a majority of bears of the species will charge at large prey at one point in their lives, many predation attempts start with the bear clumsily and half-heartedly pursuing the prey and end with the prey escaping alive.<ref name="brown"/> On the other hand, some brown bears are quite self-assured predators who habitually pursue and catch large prey. Such bears are usually taught how to hunt by their mothers from an early age.<ref name="brown"/> Large mammals preyed on can include various [[ungulate]] species such as [[elk]], [[moose]], [[Reindeer|caribou]], [[muskox]]en, and [[wild boar]].<ref name="pasitschniak-arts1993mamsp"></ref> When brown bears attack these large animals, they usually target young or infirm ones, which are easier to catch. Typically when hunting (especially young prey), the bear pins its prey to the ground and then immediately tears at and eats it alive.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=French |first1= S. P. |last2= French |first2=M. G. |title=Predatory behavior of grizzly bears feeding on elk calves in Yellowstone National Park, 1986–1988 |year= 1990 |journal=International Conf. Bear Res. And Manage | volume= 8|pages= 335–341|url=http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_8/French_French_8.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_8/French_French_8.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live | doi=10.2307/3872937|jstor= 3872937 }}</ref> It will also bite or swipe some prey to stun it enough to knock it over for consumption.<ref name= Macdonald>{{cite book|year=1993|title=Mammals of Europe|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=New Jersey|page=[https://archive.org/details/mammalsofeurope00macd/page/107 107]|isbn=978-0-691-09160-0|author1=Macdonald, D. W.|author2=Barrett, P.|url=https://archive.org/details/mammalsofeurope00macd/page/107}}</ref> In general, large mammalian prey is killed with raw strength 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> To pick out young or infirm individuals, bears will charge at herds so the more vulnerable, and thus slower-moving, individuals will become apparent. Brown bears may ambush young animals by finding them via scent.<ref name="pasitschniak-arts1993mamsp"></ref>

When emerging from hibernation, brown bears, whose broad paws allow them to walk over most ice and snow, may pursue large prey such as moose, whose hooves cannot support them on encrusted snow.<ref name= Macdonald/> Similarly, predatory attacks on large prey sometimes occur at riverbeds, when it is more difficult for the prey specimen to run away due to muddy or slippery soil.<ref name="pasitschniak-arts1993mamsp"></ref> On rare occasions, while confronting fully-grown, dangerous prey, bears kill them by hitting with their powerful forearms, which can break the necks and backs of large creatures such as adult moose and adult bison.<ref name="brown"/> They feed on [[carrion]], and use their size to intimidate other predators – such as [[Wolf|wolves]], [[cougar]]s, tigers, and [[American black bear]]s – away from their kills. Carrion is especially important in the early spring (when the bears are emerging from hibernation), much of it comprising winter-killed big game.<ref name="pasitschniak-arts1993mamsp"></ref> Cannibalism is not unheard of, though predation is not normally believed to be the primary motivation when brown bears attack each other.<ref name="brown"/>

When forced to live in close proximity with humans and their domesticated animals, bears may potentially predate any type of domestic animal. Among these, domestic cattle are sometimes exploited as prey. Cattle are bitten on the neck, back, or head, and then the abdominal cavity is opened for eating.<ref name="pasitschniak-arts1993mamsp"></ref> Plants and fruit farmed by humans are readily consumed as well, including [[Maize|corn]], wheat, [[sorghum]], melons, and any form of [[Berry|berries]].<ref name="brown"/> They may feed on domestic [[Beekeeping|bee yards]], readily consuming both honey and the brood (grubs and pupae) of the [[honey bee]] colony.<ref name="brown"/> Human foods and trash are eaten when possible. When an open garbage dump was kept in Yellowstone, brown bears were one of the most voracious and regular scavengers. The dump was closed after both brown and American black bears came to associate humans with food and lost their natural fear of them.<ref name="brown"/>