Opportunistic Brown Bears

A new 2 year study, involved fitting 15 Brown bears in Northern Sweden with GPS collars. The locations of 2500 adult reindeer were also monitored in this location (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/jan/24/brown-bears-switch-habitats-to-hunt-vulnerable-prey-finds-study). The study revealed that, when the bears emerged from their 6 months of hibernation, they initially frequented mountainous locations where the reindeer were calving. Bears, killed and consumed the vulnerable young reindeer, boosting their protein intake. Later, after reindeer calving ended, the bears moved to forest locations, where moose were giving birth. Moose calves then became the preferred food items. At the end of herbivore calving, in Summer, the bears switched to a vegetarian diet of berries, until it was time to re-enter hibernation. The study basically illustrates how Brown bears, like many other species, are highly opportunistic in their seasonal feeding patterns/food intake. It's also a nice illustration of ecological dynamics in this area of Northern Sweden and should be helpful to conservationists.