“What do brown bears eat?” We get this question often during our bear watching tour. So, let’s see what their diet consists of:

Brown Bears near Brasov
Brown Bear Watching near Brașov

A visit to the dentist…

First of all, we need to look closer and observe their dentition. This can be done only when they are put to sleep or after they die. As you probably expect, they don’t really like their teeth to be checked while they are awake or alive. Once we get close up and personal with them, we notice something very familiar with their teeth. With small exceptions, they look pretty much like what we have: Strong sharp canines which are used for ripping off the meat, together with the front teeth and big flat molars which are used for chewing the vegetable food. You know, just as we’re doing with carrots or the infamous ruccola (bleah). When we think of our diet… meat, vegetables, bread, ruccola… hmmm, we are omnivorous.

So, what do brown bears eat after all?!

And so are the brown bears! Yes, the brown bears are omnivorous, which means they can eat pretty much anything they can find. During summer they eat grass, roots, fruits (mainly berries, like blueberries, blackberries, raspberry), as well as small animals, if they can catch them. Mostly, they prefer to eat already dead animals killed by other predators or which died of natural causes in the wildlife. But not too rotten. They have their dignity as well! The bears have an incredible fine sense of smell, so they can feel the dead animals from up to 10 kilometers away. They search under tree bark or logs for worms, insects, bugs or ants. They go into a deep sleep during winter (eating and drinking some water once a week), therefore their main activity during late summer and autumn is to build up fat, which they need to survive during the winter.

Once winter is gone, they repeat the process… grass, roots, berries etc. Not curious tourists 🙂 So if you’re interested in seeing these wild animals in the wild, in their natural habitat, please contact us and we’ll help.

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