Use of Pine Nuts by Grizzly and Black Bears in the Yellowstone Area

January 1, 1983
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Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), an important tree of high altitudes in the northern Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada, produces nuts eaten by bears. Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) and black bear (U. americanus) use of pine nuts was studied in Yellowstone National Park and adjacent areas during 1978 and 1979. Spring use appeared to be correlated with cone production in the preceding year, while fall use was correlated with the current crop. Most of the nuts eaten by bears came from cones cached by red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus). Pine nuts were a nutritious food which was often present in early spring and late fall when alternate foods were scarce or low in digestible energy and when nutritional requirements of bears were high. No evidence was found that bears ate the nuts of limber pine (P. flexilis).

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