Video of Bears Fishing at the Slippery 'Salmon Bar' Is a Total Riot
If there's one thing that all bears love to do, it's to fish for a meal. Explore.org shared a video on Friday, August 16th, of a bunch of different bears attempting to fish at the 'salmon bar,' and it will definitely crack you up! What's great about this video is that Explore shares fishing bloopers of bears slipping and sliding off rocks as they try to catch a meal!
I'll be honest and say the video is way too short. It's only 24 seconds and I need to see more of this! Some bears just walk too close to the edge and slip while others are in the middle of hunting when they fall off the ledge. Make sure your sound is on as you watch because the music seems to make it even more funny for some reason!
These bears all cracked me up! It's like they were confused by what happened when they fell...I could watch them all day! I wasn't alone; many Explore.org commenters enjoyed the video, too. @nancychumacher61 shared "The more I watch this the more I laugh. The expressions are the best!!" @Jaqmom21 pointed out, "HAHA the one bear at the end just watching him slip and fall!" @ladymoonlight84 joked, "I guess that they just need to get a grip! LOL!" Annie said, "I always get worried when they slip off." and Explore replied, "We don’t worry too much unless it’s a spring cub."
Related: Brown Bear's Lazy Way of 'Fishing' for Salmon Is Such a Total Vibe
Why Do Bears Fish for Salmon?
Believe it or not, not all bears eat salmon regularly. Brown bears and grizzly bears eat salmon most often; this is because these bears live near salmon streams during spawning seasons. Black bears will eat salmon when they come across it, but since they're normally found farther away from salmon streams, it's not a main part of their diet; it's more of a treat!
Salmon is good for bears, and an important source of food, especially as they prepare to bulk up for the coming winter months. Salmon provides high-quality protein and fats that help bears build necessary fat reserves needed to get them through their hibernation period. They eat the whole salmon, from the skin to the bones. To maintain their weight, it's estimated that bears need to eat about one salmon per day during the salmon spawning season when the fish are most abundant.
Bears use many different fishing techniques in order to catch salmon. There's the stand and wait approach, where they stand like statues and wait for the perfect time to dive in for the fish. The dash and grab method is used when the bears are walking back and forth in a certain location, waiting for an unexpected fish to find them; they use speed and precision which tests their agility and reflexes...more experienced fishing bears use this approach. Some bears dive down and hunt underneath the water, while others 'pirate' or steal from younger or less experienced bears; it's the lazy bear's way to fish. The bears in this video seemed to be using the stand and wait method of fishing, and while not all of them were successful, they did keep us all entertained!
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