Trail camera captures black bear grazing near Seattle home
A Bluesky post of a relaxed bear eating grass and berries sparks discussion about bear diet and human-wildlife coexistence.
What to know
- A Seattle homeowner's trail camera video of a grazing black bear went viral on Bluesky, sparking discussion about bear diet and behavior in the Pacific Northwest.
- Commenters shared their own bear encounters and expressed fascination with how large bears can grow eating primarily vegetation, berries, and insects.
- A critical voice warned that bears habituated to human food sources—unharvested fruit, garbage—often end up killed by wildlife officials, framing the scene as a conservation concern despite its cute appearance.
- The thread became a forum for debating bear biology, with users clarifying that black bears are omnivores, not obligate herbivores, though diet varies by region.
The dispute Whether bears in the Seattle area consume significant amounts of salmon and other protein, versus subsisting almost entirely on vegetation and insects, with the post author asserting the latter is true for local bears. · positions read across 64 posts and comments
Bears are amazing and cute; sharing these encounters is delightful and worth celebrating.
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“I'm dead! I died from cuteness! The bear's stretch did me in!”
lanitamt.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
Human food attractants are dangerous and lead to bears being killed; residents must remove temptations.
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“Unfortunately, it's unharvested apples, garbage, and other food attractants irresponsibly left around people's properties that lead to bear/human conflict and conservation officers KILLING bears—including sows and cubs, when they…”
darthkater.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
Black bears are omnivores or opportunistic carnivores, not pure herbivores; their diet includes fish, grubs, and other animal matter.
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“They're omnivores. Horses are opportunistic predators though. (Yes, really.)”
name-is-the-byline.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
menestune.bsky.social Seattle-area homeowner and trail camera operatordarthkater.bsky.social Bluesky commenter
How it unfolded 4 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump postscomments
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Commenters discuss bear diet and omnivory
The thread evolved into a discussion of bear biology, with users debating whether black bears are obligate or opportunistic carnivores, noting they eat salmon, grubs, honey, and vegetation. Some commenters acknowledged bears' omnivorous nature while others clarified regional differences in bear diet.
“They're omnivores. Horses are opportunistic predators though. (Yes, really.)…”
— name-is-the-byline.bsky.social -
M
Yes, but almost totally herbivores except for bugs and the occasional fish - although the bears around here aren't around many fish.
2 more of the top 3 · 46 posts in this stretch
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Some commenters pointed out that black bears will once in a while eat meat or fish. And while that is true, that's why I wrote "almost exclusively" plants. Around us, there aren't many places to eat fish and we've never seen one eat an animal in thousands of videos. They will raid garbage cans.
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the well-lived life: sploot. eat some greens. biiiiiiigg stretch. sploot. 💓 (and if not exhausted from all that splooting, eating, and stretching, go for a swim then steal the pool)
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Commenter warns of danger from human food attractants
A user injected a serious note into the otherwise celebratory thread, warning that bears attracted to unharvested fruit and other food sources left on properties often end up being killed by conservation officers when they become habituated to human areas.
“Unfortunately, it's unharvested apples, garbage, and other food attractants irresponsibly left around people's properties that lead to bear/human conflict and conservation officers KILLING bears—including sows and cubs, when they repeatedly return to food sources. A fed bear is a dead bear.”
— darthkater.bsky.social -
Then you'll really be impressed with what the Blue Whale eats.
2 more of the top 3 · 6 posts in this stretch
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Unfortunately, it's unharvested apples, garbage, and other food attractants irresponsibly left around people's properties that lead to bear/human conflict and conservation officers KILLING bears—including sows and cubs, when they repeatedly return to food sources. A fed bear is a dead bear.
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Dogwood? It looks like an unharvested apple tree?🍎
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Commenters share bear sightings and marvel at bear behavior
The post attracted dozens of comments from users sharing their own bear encounters and discussing bear biology. Many expressed delight at the footage; others noted bears visit their properties regularly. Several comments touched on whether the bear was splooting (a thermoregulation behavior) or simply foraging.
“My big fat momma bear. She visits almost daily.”
— lostsiren13.bsky.social -
My big fat momma bear. She visits almost daily.
2 more of the top 3 · 9 posts in this stretch
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I’m dead! I died from cuteness! The bear’s stretch did me in!
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A cub hanging out in our dogwood tree while momma waited.
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Menestune posts trail camera footage of grazing black bear
A user from the Seattle area shared video or images from a trail camera installed near their hoops court showing a black bear eating grass and berries. The post emphasizes the bear's large size despite its nearly herbivorous diet and describes the bear as cute.
“The fact that black bears can be as large as they are eating almost exclusively grass and berries is amazing. And this one couldn't be any cuter doing so.”
— menestune.bsky.social -
The fact that black bears can be as large as they are eating almost exclusively grass and berries is amazing. And this one couldn't be any cuter doing so. From our trail camera next to our hoops court. Bear feet! #mammals #nature #bear #love #trailcam #Seattle #goodnight #PNW #nokings #bears #vegan
2 more of the top 3 · 3 posts in this stretch
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Fair amount of salmon for those close to rivers.
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that is amazing when you think about it...this little guy just needs a beer and a remote! 😉
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What people are saying 12 voices from 1 site · best of 64 · verbatim
- Is the bear in the footage splooting (thermoregulating) or simply foraging and stretching?
- How do herbivores and omnivores of such large size meet their caloric needs from plants alone?
- Sep 15
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Just goes to show how much more complex bear behavior is than people assume.
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Is that not a bear sploot? Wow. What footage you capture!
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This is always what I marvel at about the herbivores. How do they get enough calories???
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Yes, grizzly and black bears have wildly different personalities and aggression levels.
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Not a lot of salmon around for the bears in our area - greens and berries are almost all they eat.
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you've created a little paradise for them 🥰
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Image #1 under the heading "If Not Friend, Then Why Friend-Shaped?"
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Just a simple question, could the bear also be performing a simple act of thermoregulation called "splooting?"🤔
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Nice to see that bear so relaxed. Just got in from a short jog and saw some friends down the alley so we were focused on smiling at them. They told us a bear saw us coming and climbed up a tree. Then down he/she came and was in a position like that bear, enjoying some apples. I love bears!
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Getting ready for hibernation? That’s the excuse I use for the extra 5 pounds I’ve acquired. 🤣
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The most massive dinosaurs were the veggie eaters.
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Love to see this bear enjoying life. I envy him.