Consequently, black bears are often seen beside highways, along back roads and trails, near camps, and around towns. Avalanche slopes are also an important habitat for grizzlies. Even after leaving hibernation, black bears often continue to lose weight into June when plants become more available.
Black bears eat a diet that is mostly plants.
About one fourth of their diet includes carrion and insects. In spring, black bears feed on fresh shoots and buds, and strip the bark from trees to eat the nutritious inner bark. Summer finds black bears feeding on a variety of plants along wet meadows, on avalanche slopes, and in deciduous forests. Rich insect larvae is dug out of fallen logs. By fall, fruits and berries provide a high energy food source for the bears who, like grizzlies, enter a critical phase of constant eating to fatten up for hibernation.