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1986.6--105-110.pdf | Download |
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Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) scats were collected from 4 western Montana study areas from 1976 to 1979 to determine differences in food item selection. Fruit was important to grizzly bears in all areas although the species consumed and the apparent degree of use varied. Globe huckleberry (Vaccinium globulare) was important to grizzly bears in the North and South forks of the Flathead River but was rarely eaten in other areas. Domestic apples (Malus spp.) and plums (Prunus spp.) were eaten extensively by Mission Mountain grizzly bears. Grasses and sedges were a staple food to bears in all areas; variable use of Umbelliferae was found. The nuts of whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) were eaten extensively by East Front grizzly bears only, and biscuit-root (Lomatium spp.) roots were dug to varying degrees in all areas. Yellow hedysarum (Hedysarum sulphurescens) roots were an important spring and autumn food to North Fork grizzly bears only. Horsetails (Equisetum spp.), clover (Trifolium spp.), and dandelions (Taraxacum spp.) were important in all areas throughout the grizzly bears' active period. These data suggest that substantial local variation occurs in grizzly bear food habits in Montana. These differences should be considered in land management plans that call for maintenance or enhancement of grizzly bear habitat.