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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] apple preferences of bears

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  • From: Douglas Woodard <dwoodard@becon.org>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] apple preferences of bears
  • Date: Sun, 04 Apr 2010 22:10:31 -0400

My guess would be that bears use their noses to judge ripeness and are better equipped than us to judge fruit quality before tasting. Also at the later season probably there are fewer alternatives to human planted fruit crops. To quote one of David Suzuki's lines, it's a matter of survival.

Kim, are they destructive of grapevines and dwarf trees whose fruit they can reach from the ground, or do they only damage trees they have to climb?

Doug Woodard
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada



kk maser wrote:
Derry. Bears will eat anything that is available. If it's ripe they will eat it. When I was in the Okanagan bears would eat grapes, bears or apples. Color really didn't matter if it was ripe it was fair game. The bears were quite habitual and seem to know when the fruit was available. Even if the season varied by a couple of weeks they would show up. They usually went for the outside rows. They like to come in at dusk. Usually we reserved a few rows for them. If you want to scare the "bejusus"(excuse my newfinese ) out of them bear bangers or shooting off a shotgun will keep them away. They really like the later season more sugar in the fruit gives them the energy they need for winter hibernation.
Cheers
Kim

On Sun, Apr 4, 2010 at 3:45 PM, derry&bill <wchase@interchange.ubc.ca <mailto:wchase@interchange.ubc.ca>> wrote:

Does anyone know of any research done on whether bears prefer red or
green apples or sweet or sour apples?

I know about choosing varieties which ripen early ... ideally before the
bears come down the mountains.

Derry Walsh
with customers in bear country.




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