September at a Glance

Bears enter hyperphagia in September and may look for food up to 20 hours a day. Berries, nuts and acorns are important fall bear foods. Bears can gain two to three pounds a day. Even bears that don’t hibernate eat as if they’re going to. Moms-to-be look for a good birthing den and nursery.   

EATING GIES INTO HYPERDRIVE: In the cooler days of September, most bears are very focused on finding as much food and gaining as much weight as possible. When the eating is good, a bear can put on two to three pounds a day. By hibernation time many bears will have added about 4 inches of fat and gained between 20% and 50% of their summer body weight.

BIOLOGICAL CLOCKS ARE TICKING: The quest for calories keeps bears active and foraging up to 20 hours a day. This annual feeding frenzy called hyperphagia is driven by bears’ ticking biological clocks counting down to hibernation, when most bears in colder climates retire for the winter and live off the fat they’re working so hard now to accumulate. Bears also need much more water now, up to two to three gallons a day, in order to process all those calories and eliminate nitrogenous waste.

EVEN BEARS THAT DON’T HIBERNATE CHOW DOWN: Bears are biologically driven to gain weight in the fall even if they live in warmer climates where many bears don’t really hibernate, just take it easier and nap a lot. Bears that rely on dependable year-round human food sources often don’t hibernate either. But they still eat as if they’re going to.

Please click on the following link to learn more from the author of this information: https://bearwise.org/what-bears-do-in-september/