Bear diet/food sources in the fall around Tahoe

[kon]

Hey guys, l've been a full time resident at Tahoe since last year. I spent 20 days trying to call in a bear between the archery and general seasons last year. I managed to call in a couple during archery but couldn't get a shot, but then the call seemed to stop working when general season started in the fall, so I decided to just hike next to creeks and got lucky by coming across one in early October (attached photo). I drew a premium zone archery deer tag this year so I wasn't focused on bear this archery season, but I did see a lot of fresh sign and one large bear this August in the same area I was hunting last year.

What I'm noticing is their scat is full of grass in August, and the bears seem to be around areas that have creek beds and lots of green growth. I actually hunted an area this August that had bear scat every 20 feet, almost as if a bear was living in that area through that time of year. So I definitely feel confident of where to look at that time of year, but I have this feeling that there are much less bears in the areas I hunt once fall comes around.

What I'm stuck on right now is understanding what their food source is in the fall when their grass and greenery food sources seem to disappear. I read the The Ultimate Guide to Black Bear Hunting and dug around online, and acorns seem to be a common food source, but I don't think I've ever seen acorns in the areas I've hunted around Tahoe.

These areas are within 20 miles south of Tahoe, so it's all mountainous timber and sage brush. Am I just not finding the acorns, or if there really aren't any in the immediate vicinity, what food sources do they look for?

 

[CApighunter]

No acorns where I hunt either. Seen them mainly tearing apart logs and stumps looking for grubs/rodents/etc.

 

[Soj51hopeful]

Manzanita berries

 

[SDHNTR]

Garbage dumpster

 

[kon]

Wouldn’t manzanitas all be stripped bare and the berries gone this late in the year?

Logs, rodents and small animals make sense, but what’s strange is that they seem less responsive to my call in the fall than in the summer. I’d expect them to be less responsive in the summer when they have more food sources around, not the other way around.

There’s no dumpsters where I hunt. I have to leave the Tahoe basin and drive far enough sourh to get into good wilderness bear country. If I hunted around the communities here, the neighbors would lynch me. They already protest and homeowners get death threats when they have a legitimate bear issue and call to get a bear trap put in front of their house, the leftists come to protest and dox them on the Internet. That’s CA for you. I don’t even mention the fact I go bear hunting to neighbors, I just say I hunt deer.

 

[68Plexi]

We don’t have oak trees/acorns at this elevation. When you drive off the hill you will start to see them around 5k feet.

There are still some berries found up high, but these black bears are opportunists, so they’re eating whatever they can find. Bugs in logs, gut piles, grasses and berries.

Aspen groves are a good place to look, especially close to the rivers. Water and vegetation. So many bears up here but they do seem to become more reclusive after September. Except for the garbage bears in town, they never leave.

A friend of mine harvested a nuisance bear a number of years ago during archery season close to his house (not in the city) and when he skinned it was peppered with .22 rounds.

And the OP isn’t kidding when he says not to tell anyone you hunt bears here. You’d be better off telling them you enjoy hunting baby seals.


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[Moserkr]

I have found them up high in areas of scrub oak, not really an oak tree but more of a bush. Find a patch that actually has mini “acorns” and thats one food source. Next is bugs in rotting trees, which I find near scree fields, so again looking very high - top of the tree line. Buddy and I wonder if they are eating moths too in the rocks given that its odd they are above treeline late in the deer season like now. Manzanita is a hot ticket but its been dry so the crop is a little weak. My manzanita patches are best hunted in late november to early december when the fruit is thick, assuming theres a crop. Usually oak trees and acorns are around there too in the ~5000’ range. There will be many bears sharing the patches IF the weather has pushed them down there and theres plenty to eat. So far this year we have had no weather and I have had trouble finding bears in their normal spots from it. If they have a good food source, calling them with a predator call will not work well - bears are lazy and if well fed, why bother with a measly dying rabbit. Now if a bear is already 100 yards from you, calling may work due to close proximity. Regardless of what food source you are looking at, I find em all on south/west facing slopes that get the most sunshine. If there was snow Id just go cut a track but 2020 continues to be one of those years worth forgetting.

 

[Moserkr]

We don’t have oak trees/acorns at this elevation. When you drive off the hill you will start to see them around 5k feet.

There are still some berries found up high, but these black bears are opportunists, so they’re eating whatever they can find. Bugs in logs, gut piles, grasses and berries.

Aspen groves are a good place to look, especially close to the rivers. Water and vegetation. So many bears up here but they do seem to become more reclusive after September. Except for the garbage bears in town, they never leave.

A friend of mine harvested a nuisance bear a number of years ago during archery season close to his house (not in the city) and when he skinned it was peppered with .22 rounds.

And the OP isn’t kidding when he says not to tell anyone you hunt bears here. You’d be better off telling them you enjoy hunting baby seals.


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Well said and thats too funny about baby seals hahaha. The locals love their garbage bears. Id assume many people illegally feed the bears too. My father in law does auto body repair in tahoe and its crazy how many vehicles are torn up from bears getting in looking for that lost french fry between the seats...

 

[MeatBuck]

There’s a ton of manzanita berries still left in b zone. Might still be some in the sierras.

 

[kon]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys, that’s helpful I’m going to try a new spot in the general area I’ve been hunting, higher up on the south/west facing slopes.

We had a juvenile bear come through our living room window a couple of months back at 2am. It scaled a wooden log pole, and literally jumped maybe 5 feet in through the screen. It jumped back out and slowly lumbered off after I turned on the lights and yelled at it. I guess the problems start if they find food, then they keep coming back!

 

[Moserkr]

My buddy’s bear he shot over a gut pile at the end of the season. Had no clue the gut pile was there until the bear looked at him with blood and guts falling out of his mouth at 30 yards away. We took a break on a hillside, not knowing the bear was moving across it right beneath us. Snow storm was coming in midday so we got lucky with him moving in the open that morning but ill take that luck all day long. 350+ lb boar that 3 guys couldnt drag a foot together. Mile from the truck, 8000’ elevation, late october but in 2016 or 17 i think. Absolutely delicious high country bear and my wife puts bear meat second to elk!! By the pics you can see that with an 8’ ceiling, the bear stretched past 7’, and his skull was less than 1/2” from B&C. Paws were as big as my stomach, and we met guys who had seen him in previous years in the area we got him. He was known for being mean and the king, so it was no surprise that when he saw us at 30 yards he did not turn and run - he turned towards us in defiance to our presence. Luckily 2 .308 rounds quickly placed in both lungs put him down and he only made it 80 yards. Glad those 80 yards were away from us though...

 

[MeatBuck]

You could probably take a sack of trash and leave it in your pickup bed, shoot the bear from rear sliding window as he noses the trash.

In all seriousness though I had a bear get into a trash bag I had hanging on the rear bumper while I was hunting b zone this year. One night he came and cleaned up my spoon for me. Guess I hadn’t done a good enough job rinsing the milk off it. Could easily tell it was a bear from his muddy lip prints left on the paper towel the spoon was wrapped in. As well as the crunch marks on the plastic container he pulled from trash. Luckily he didn’t want the donuts and other goodies I had in the truck. Well he may have wanted them but didn’t attempt to get them.

 

[Bubblehide]

Two words: Cedar/juniper berries

 

[kon]

I went out yesterday afternoon, watched above the tree line, then went down and across the valley to the other side. No bears or fresh sign by the look of it. I also didn't see berries of any kind. This is great bear country in the summer, but I wonder if they move to different areas this time of year.

 

[Bubblehide]

Much further south of Tahoe, many bears go over the Crest onto the eastern slope.

Kon, if you are above treeline, you are likely much to high in elevation IMNSHO.

 

[kon]

Much further south of Tahoe, many bears go over the Crest onto the eastern slope.

Kon, if you are above treeline, you are likely much to high in elevation IMNSHO.

Gotcha. Do you think that would be the case maybe 20 to 40 miles South of Tahoe too? And why the eastern slope?

The area I've been hunting (that definitely holds bear in the summer) is between 8k and 9.5k elevation. Should I be looking for them down in the valleys that are closer to 7k? Or, am I just in the wrong area, and higher elevations do hold bear this time of year?

 

[Bubblehide]

Although I have been through your area, I have never hunted the general Tahoe area. The bears in southern Ca are considered to not hibernate (bears actually do not hibernate, there is a different term, but it alludes me at the moment). I am unsure if the bears in the general Tahoe area do. What I do know, is that in the southern portion of the Sierra's, the bears prior to this part of the year, start to move to lower elevations. Depending on the direction they take, they may first need to gain elevation before dropping elevation.

Yes, if you are going to find active bears, it WILL be at lower elevations. The eastern slope is a natural place to head, for bears anywhere near the crest. In nature, energy is seldom wasted without one's life being in peril. As such, animals, fish... only expend energy when necessary, and generally, they chose to do it at a time that allows them to expend the least amount. Keep in mind, that safety is also IMNSHO and chosen factor (we seldom see mature bucks watering during the day, unless there are triple digit temps). At this time of the year, it will take more energy to survive at high elevations than at lower elevations. It will take longer to warm in the mornings. Most food sources are or have been frozen. As such, they lack moisture, as necessary element for digestion, and the list goes on and on. In short, a bears survival depends on either hibernating, or moving to lower elevation. So, IMNSHO, you are NOT going to find active bears (black bears) at high elevations at this time of the year.

IMNSHO, that stands for in my NOT so humble opinion by the way. I mean anyone with an opinion, is not humble if they chose to voice it. But to continue: Yes, you are in the wrong location. IMNSHO, I would be starting at 5000' elevation and working my way down, if I were hunting the general Tahoe area. If I were to choose higher elevations, it would be areas where access to lower elevations would be easy, from a physical perspective, for bears; in a manner that is not time consuming.

Dose this makes sense to you?

 

[kon]

Although I have been through your area, I have never hunted the general Tahoe area. The bears in southern Ca are considered to not hibernate (bears actually do not hibernate, there is a different term, but it alludes me at the moment). I am unsure if the bears in the general Tahoe area do. What I do know, is that in the southern portion of the Sierra's, the bears prior to this part of the year, start to move to lower elevations. Depending on the direction they take, they may first need to gain elevation before dropping elevation.

Yes, if you are going to find active bears, it WILL be at lower elevations. The eastern slope is a natural place to head, for bears anywhere near the crest. In nature, energy is seldom wasted without one's life being in peril. As such, animals, fish... only expend energy when necessary, and generally, they chose to do it at a time that allows them to expend the least amount. Keep in mind, that safety is also IMNSHO and chosen factor (we seldom see mature bucks watering during the day, unless there are triple digit temps). At this time of the year, it will take more energy to survive at high elevations than at lower elevations. It will take longer to warm in the mornings. Most food sources are or have been frozen. As such, they lack moisture, as necessary element for digestion, and the list goes on and on. In short, a bears survival depends on either hibernating, or moving to lower elevation. So, IMNSHO, you are NOT going to find active bears (black bears) at high elevations at this time of the year.

IMNSHO, that stands for in my NOT so humble opinion by the way. I mean anyone with an opinion, is not humble if they chose to voice it. But to continue: Yes, you are in the wrong location. IMNSHO, I would be starting at 5000' elevation and working my way down, if I were hunting the general Tahoe area. If I were to choose higher elevations, it would be areas where access to lower elevations would be easy, from a physical perspective, for bears; in a manner that is not time consuming.

Dose this makes sense to you?

100%. Really appreciate you taking the time to write that, I’ll look into areas at lower elevations

 

[Bubblehide]

100%. Really appreciate you taking the time to write that, I’ll look into areas at lower elevations

Best of luck! Please, let us know how it goes.

 

[JohnnyB]

Ran into three bears at 7000’ this last week in d6.