The autumn and spring diet of brown bear Ursus arctos in the Bieszczady Mountains of Poland

Bieszczady Mountains of Poland. Acta theriol. 37: 339 - 344. The diet of brown bear Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758 in the autumn of 1990 and the spring of 1991 was studied by the analysis of faeces contents (46 samples, 23 from autumn and 23 from spring). Based on frequency of occurrence of food items in individual faeces, the autumn diet of bears was more diverse than the spring diet. We calculated for each food item frequency percent (F%), dry weight percent (W%) and Importance Value (IV%). Beech Fagus silvatica nuts were the most important food during both spring and autumn (36.9% IV in autumn and 78.5% IV in spring). Carrion, used as a bait by hunters, and foodstuffs from game-feeding stations (maize, oats, beets) also appeared to be a significant part of the bears' diet.