American black bears can be predators of ungulates, especially neonates. In this study in northern Ontario, there was no evidence of caribou consumption.
American black bears (Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780) are opportunistic foragers, and across most of their range in North America, their diet is predominantly vegetation with limited consumption of vertebrates and invertebrates. However, they are also predators of ungulates, especially neonates, with regional variation in the amount of predation pressure they exert. We used scat analysis to examine the diet of black bears during the calving season in a moose (Alces alces (Linnaeus, 1758)) – woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou (Gmelin, 1788)) system in the Boreal forest of northern Ontario, Canada. Bears consumed herbaceous plants (46.5%), fruits and (or) seeds (20.0%), moose (3.3% adults; 4.3% calves), American beaver (Castor canadensis Kuhl, 1820; 8.5%), and insects (mostly ants; 4.2%). Bears had the highest consumption of moose and beaver in early spring, before switching to a more vegetation-dominated diet. We did not detect evidence of caribou consumption. Based on our results, black bear consumption of moose, particularly neonates, may warrant further investigation.