09/19/2026
🍎🍒🦋🌲🐛Feeling "hungry as a bear?"🍎🍒🦋🌲🐛
Every autumn, both black and grizzly bears enter a feeding frenzy called "hyperphagia" to prepare for winter hibernation. Bears will spend up to 20 hours a day looking for food, and may consume 20,000 calories! In Montana, bears usually hibernate for 5-6 months, and can lose up to 30% of their body weight during this time. Their best bet for winter survival is to put on as much weight as possible during the fall.
Bears will seek out food wherever they can find it, so it's especially important during hyperphagia to keep bears away from human food.
What can you do to ensure bears eat normal bear food, not human foods?
🗑Store garbage and recycling in a secured building, and only put out on collection day
🐾Store pet and livestock feed in a secured building
🍔Clean BBQs and outdoor eating areas after use
🍎Pick fruit immediately once it is ripe, and consider installing an electric fence around fruit trees and gardens
🐦Avoid using bird feeders while bears are active (typically March 1 to Dec. 15)
Hungry for more info? Visit https://fwp.mt.gov/bear-aware
