Foods habits of Black Bears (Ursus americanus) and their habitat use in Gaspsie Park, Qubec, were determined from 169 scats and by monitoring 14 radio-tagged bears during summer 1990. Scat analysis indicated that graminoids were the most important food in early summer (1 June to 15 July) whereas Serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.), Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), Dogwood (Cornus stolonifera) and Raspberry (Rubus spp.) were the major fruit-bearing plants used in late summer (16 July to 31 August). Ants (Formicidae) were an important animal food throughout the summer. Mature forest was the commonest habitat type in the study area. It was used in proportion to its availability during early summer even though it was the poorest food-producing habitat. Clearcuts harboured the most fruit-bearing plants and were used predominantly in late summer. In general, disturbed areas, either natural (insect epidemics) or man-made (clearcuts), were the preferred habitats during the study. With the exception of one individual, none of the radio-collared bears were located in alpine tundra, the preferred habitat of a threatened Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) population suffering heavy calf loss.
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Boileau et al. (1994) studied this question.