Black bears with a taste for fast food grow fat and lazy on easy pickings

Independent ^ | November 27, 2003 | Michael McCarthy

[sarcasm]

Obesity caused by fast-food diets, a growing scourge of American society, is now even affecting wild bears, researchers in the United States have found.

Black bears living near American towns and cities are changing their feeding habits, devoting more and more time to raiding rubbish bins and tips, and in conseqeuence growing overweight from the left-overs of fast-food meals, said the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in New York.

High-calorie, high-fat diets have led to record levels of obesity among people and even domestic pets in the US. Now a study organised in Nevada has found that black bears living near urban areas are picking up the worst eating habits of their human neighbours.

Bears that wander into populated areas to scavenge for food were also found to be less active than those in the wilderness, said Dr Jon Beckmann and Dr Joel Berger of the WCS.

They said many black bears no longer bothered hunting for food in their wild habitats. Instead, the constant supply of high-calorie fast food found in rubbish bins was an easier way for the animals to get year-round sustenance.

The researchers used radio collars to track the movement of 59 bears in the Lake Tahoe basin on the California-Nevada border. They found that the animals fell into two distinct groups.

One group, the "country bears", spent nearly all their time in the wild. The second group, the "city bears", virtually lived in urban areas and feasted on the rubbish and left-over food of local people.

A bear fattening up for winter needs a massive 20,000 calories a day.

And while country bears spent more than 13 hours a day looking for food, their lazier cousins in the city spent slightly more than eight hours feasting on human left-overs.

In winter, country bears spent more time in their dens, avoiding the cold and lack of food outside. But city bears took advantage of the year-round supply of left-overs and kept on eating, the study found.

The end result was that the city-dwelling animals were fatter than the average bear.

A quarter weighed more than 400lb, compared with an average of 220lb to 300lb. Some weighed between 500lb and 600lb.

Whether the bears' health suffered because of their greater weight was not clear. But as more bears wander into, or live in, urban areas, the more likely they are to come into contact with humans.

Many are hit by cars and killed, and the dangers of a city mean more bears are dying than being born in some areas, the study says.

[djf]

Time for a class action lawsuit.


Ursus versus Mickie D's

[JOHANNES801]

WELFARE BEARS.

[FITZ]

Yes --- that's what they sound like.

[djf]

Hey, them bears have to do community service. You know, killing possums, cleaning up dumpsters, SOMETHING!

[Kay Ludlow]

Next they'll be telling us bears prefer watching TV to foraging in dumpsters...

I wonder how many of my tax dollars went to pay for this goofy study? Of course they go for the easier food when they find it, and then spend less time foraging. Common sense tells me that without any radio control collars.

The bear in my area that's keeps coming back and getting in people's garbage is 600lbs. He knows where to find the good eats!

[demlosers]

One group, the "country bears", spent nearly all their time in the wild. The second group, the "city bears", virtually lived in urban areas and feasted on the rubbish and left-over food of local people.

An allegory of red states vs blue states.

[Vaduz]

The burning question is what knid of beer do they drink other than hamms?.

[camas]

would the bears name be Grizzwell???

[Broadside Joe]

"Many are hit by cars and killed, and the dangers of a city mean more bears are dying than being born in some areas, the study says."


So are they saying that this may be un-bear-able?

[djf]

Blame it on cars and trucks now. We have scientific proof now most female bears have big butts, and they're blaming on cars and trucks...

[NewRomeTacitus]

Found the following note in my slobbered-on mailbox:

“While a few of us thoroughly enjoyed dining upon the simpletons who came here to study our behavior, we regret that no other volunteers have stepped forward to take their place. Please send more idiots. We know you are harboring hundreds of PETA and World Wildlife Federation activists. Two or three is only teasing. Don’t make us come down there.”

- I.M. Hungry, Appointed Representative
Association of Hungry Alaskan Grizzlies
(& Booboo Bear, Treasurer of Picanic Baskets)

“Grizzlies. We’re Called That For A Good Reason”

[mtbopfuyn]

Yogi alert!

[Broadside Joe]

" We have scientific proof now most female bears have big butts,"


Hmmm that's strange, they found the same thing in human females in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

[djf]

Well, this sounds series, absolutely hugh. Oprah or Doctor Phil need to do a show, pronto!

[Grizzly Bear]

Well, this bear prefers a double bacon cheeseburger to nuts and berries any day!

[Broadside Joe]

Well, they may tell them to butt out. It is a huge problem.

[Kay Ludlow]

would the bears name be Grizzwell???

LOL! I think they just call him "That big bear on Sawmill Rd".

[fish hawk]

some of the bigger bears play football for Chicago.

[djf]

We have the occasional brown bear near me. Grizzly sightings in Washington are in the central and north cascades.


What kind of bear do you want living nearby?

An overweight, lazy bear who takes lots of naps, and once in a while wakes up to have a whopper and burp, or


A lean, mean, hungy bear in prime shape who's been living on roots, bark and the occasional chipmunk for the last six months.

Do the math!