Eating Habits of Black Bears in Grand Teton National Park

Two black bear cubs inspect a log ripped open by their mother in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

Springtime is a great season to find wildlife in Grand Teton National Park, especially bears, because they come out of hibernation with not only an empty belly, but also a low fat percentage. As a result, they’re hungry and they’re going to eat anything they can find. Grizzly bears will dig up the ground in search of roots, while black bears will eat grass right out of the ground, which is what these cubs were doing with their mother when I happened upon them. After following them for a bit, the mother began ripping apart this log so that they could potentially feed on grubs, ants, termite and other smaller insects. Once they’ve spent a good month or so getting their fat content back up, they’ll lay low for a while, avoiding the crowds that tend to build up in Grand Teton National Park until the fall season comes around and they begin building back up a much higher fat content in preparation for the coming winter.

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