Comparison of black bear diets in eastern Oklahoma across seasons and regions

Black bears (Ursus americanus) are omnivorous and therefore consume a wide variety of foods. Food availability, however, changes by season and an understanding of what is consumed during the different seasons can provide useful information for management. Although black bears are capable of catching small mammals and newborn ungulates, the majority of their diet in the southeastern U.S. is made up of vegetation and insects. Climate has a large impact on what foods are available for bears to eat, which is why it is important for us to understand their habits and diet as populations move and grow into the warmer, more southern states. Because black bears were extirpated from Oklahoma in the early 1900's, knowledge of their current diet will help manage the new population and mitigate human-wildlife conflict. The goal of this study was to identify food types in scat samples in a recolonizing population of black bears in southeastern Oklahoma and to make a comparison of black bear diets across seasons. The study population is located in the Ouachita National Forest (ONF) and surrounding areas and focuses on the change in their diet throughout the seasons. Oklahoma in particular is a mix of prairie and woodland, with fragments of each intermingling. Vegetation (including leaves, stems, flowers, and seeds) is the predominant food type consumed by black bears in this study. Berries in particular make up a large proportion of the bears' diets. While Oklahoma black bears also consumed a large amount of insects, they seem not to be as common in the diet as has been seen in more northern studies. The frequency of occurrence of mammals in southeastern Oklahoma black bear diets appeared small, at only 0.144. Although they do consume acorns, these do not make up a significant portion of their diet, even during the denning season. Corn is more common in samples from the Ozarks than the southeastern sites, and there is a noticeable increase in corn consumption during the late summer compared to early summer and the denning season. This pattern could lead to a potential increase in human-bear conflicts in the northeastern part of Oklahoma