This black bear scat shows the seeds of a coffee berry plant. Bears have a mixed diet that includes about 80 percent vegetable matter, some insects, and meat. Their scats are accordingly varied in appearance, contents, and size. The scat photos on this page will show you some of the variety you can expect from black bear droppings.

This older black bear scat has begun to disintegrate. You can still see the seeds in it however. Bears help distribute the seeds of many plants this way. Most of the seeds pass through undigested.

A black bear scat composed partially of plums. There is also some garbage in this scat. Look closely at the lower left. do you see the object sticking out from the scat? The next photo shows a close-up of that object.

This is a close-up of the black bear scat above. Notice that this particular bear has obviously eaten some garbage. That is a wide rubber band in the scat. The bear very likely got into someone's garbage cans or compost pile. Bears are voracious eaters and will swallow just about anything, including plastic bags and rubber bands. Some objects are dangerous to the bears' health. This is one reason why we humans should keep our garbage properly stored so that bears and other wild animals cannot get into it. Bears, raccoons, skunks, opossums, and foxes are all well-known for getting into unsecured garbage. Protect the health of the animals, and keep them wild, by securing your garbage in bear-proof bins. Keeping food sources secure will also prevent problems with bears. Habituated bears, who frequently get food from dumpsters and trash receptacles, can become aggressive and cause problems.

The two lower arrows here show a couple of black bear scats. The arrow above points to a bed area, where the bear frequently rested under the tree. Nearby was an orchard with old apple trees in it. The bear would visit the orchard and eat his fill, then visit the creek behind it to get water. Then the bear would curl up at the base of this tree to sleep. All its needs were met in this one small area. If a bear has a good food source, there is no need for it to wander far. Once the food source is used  up, (in this case, once the apples are gone) the bear will move on to something else.

This is an early season black bear composed primarily of grasses. Bears eat grass and the inner bark of some trees in the early spring when other foods are not available. Their food preferences change with the seasons. In summer, they eat ripe berries. In fall, they prefer acorns. It really depends on what is available at the time of year.

A huge black bear scat composed of apple peels. This scat was found adjacent to an historic apple orchard. The bears frequently visit and eat the apples. These orchards are located in a state park and many are almost 100 years old, yet they still produce apples. Great place for the deer and black bears!

This is the typical cylindrical form that black bear scats are commonly found in. The form, of course, depends on diet. The more moist the diet, the less form there will be to the scats.

Notice the smaller scat deposited on top of this black bear scat. Both the raccoon and bear scats are composed primarily of blackberry seeds. This is an early summer crop in this area and many species feed on the abundant berries.

Numerous scats and flattened grass indicate the presence of bears in this orchard. When the fruit is ripening, the bears will spend most of their time here, taking advantage of an easy food source. Bears fatten up quite a bit at the end of summer, in preparation for the long winter ahead when there is little food available.

This black bear scat is approximately three months old. The effects of weather, including rain and snow, can clearly be seen in the scattered appearance of the material. The bear had been feeding in an old apple orchard, thus the scat is primarily composed of apple peels. Black bears can eat just about anything. Photo taken at Albee Creek Campground, Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California.

Photo Copyright © 1999 by Kim A. Cabrera