Black bears are prevalent throughout North America, and they have fairly diverse diets. If you’ve ever wondered if these large mammals eat rabbits, you’re not alone. Many outdoorsmen and wildlife enthusiasts have the same question.
In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at the predator-prey relationship between black bears and rabbits.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: Yes, black bears do sometimes eat rabbits as part of their omnivorous diet, but rabbits make up a very small portion of the foods black bears rely on.
The Omnivorous Diet of Black Bears
Plants and Berries
Black bears are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and meat. A large portion of a black bear’s diet consists of plants, berries, fruits, nuts, and insects (bear.org). In spring and summer, black bears spend up to 80% of their foraging time consuming succulent grasses, berries, and other fruits (wideopenspaces.com).
They have an excellent sense of smell that aids them in finding ripe berries and other fruits. Common plant foods include skunk cabbage, clover, grasses, roots, acorns, and all types of berries like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and huckleberries.
In fall, bears spend hours searching for acorns from oak trees, which are an excellent source of protein and carbohydrates before winter hibernation.
Insects
Black bears supplement their plant-based diet with protein-rich insects, especially ants and bees (bear.org). They use their long claws and keen sense of smell to rip into dead logs and find insect larvae like grubs. Bears also raid wild bee nests for honey and devour the larvae and pupae.
One study in North Carolina found that ants and beetle larvae accounted for up to 68% of a bear’s early spring diet (academic.oup.com). The abundance of nutritious insects helps bears quickly gain weight after emerging from winter dens.
Larger Prey
Although plants and insects make up the bulk of their diet, black bears are powerful predators capable of taking down large mammals. Bears may stalk and kill adult deer, elk, moose, and caribou, especially sick or weakened individuals.
More often, they prey on vulnerable young animals and scavenge carcasses of animals killed by other predators (nps.gov). Black bears have been known to kill livestock like sheep and goats and will readily eat eggs and chicks from bird nests.
Surprisingly, rabbits are not a significant part of most black bear diets. Bears may opportunistically hunt rabbits if they happen across them, but generally do not seek them out.
Do Black Bears Hunt Rabbits?
Opportunistic Hunters
Black bears are opportunistic omnivores, meaning they will eat both plants and animals. They have a very diverse diet that allows them to take advantage of many different food sources throughout the year (1).
Rabbits, specifically snowshoe hares, can occasionally become prey for black bears, but they do not actively hunt them as a primary food source.
Black bears prefer to graze on greens and berries, but they will certainly not pass up an easy meal if the opportunity arises. In that sense, they may opportunistically prey on rabbits when they happen to cross paths.
However, bears do not have the quickness or agility to be efficient rabbit hunters, so they do not deliberately seek them out.
A study in Alaska analyzed the summer scat (droppings) of 61 black bears. It found that only 3% contained remains of snowshoe hares, indicating they were a very minor part of the bears’ diets (2). The study confirmed that the bears mostly sustained themselves on plant foods like grasses, sedges, horsetails and berries during warmer months.
Not a Primary Prey Source
While black bears are technically opportunistic carnivores in addition to being herbivores, rabbits and hares do not make up a significant portion of the meat in their diets. Here is a breakdown of some of the animals black bears do deliberately hunt:
- Insects like ants and beetles
- Rodents like mice, voles and squirrels
- Reptiles like snakes and lizards
- Aquatic life like fish and frogs
- Birds and their eggs
- Other small mammals like raccoons or skunks
Notice a theme with those food sources? Black bears tend to prey on smaller animals that are easier to catch. Rabbits are quick and agile, making them difficult for clumsy bears to chase down. Even bear cubs learning to hunt have better luck capturing slower prey rather than fleet-footed bunnies.
So while black bears may occasionally snack on rabbits if they happen across an injured one or a nest of babies, lagomorphs are generally not pursued as a nutritious primary meat source. The bear’s bigger body and lack of speed and stamina gives rabbits the evolutionary edge when it comes to avoiding predation.
When Are Rabbits Most at Risk?
In Early Spring
Rabbits are most vulnerable to predation by black bears in early spring when they emerge from their dens. This is because bears are hungry after months of hibernation and rabbit populations are low after the winter. Newborn rabbits called kits are also extremely defenseless.
According to research by the North American Bear Center, bears can wipe out up to 80% of new rabbit litters in the spring.
This severe predation limits rabbit populations and prevents them from growing out of control. So while tragic for individual rabbits, this seasonal bear feeding pattern sustains the overall health of the rabbit population.
Around Den Sites
Bears may prey more heavily on rabbits around their den sites in early spring. A study in Wyoming found remains of snowshoe hares made up 21% of the diet for bears living in open habitats near their dens.
This higher predation near dens could simply reflect the ease of catching naive young rabbits and heavily pregnant females concentrated around bear birthing areas.
In Years of Food Scarcity
Rabbits likely suffer greater losses to black bears in years when natural food is scarce. With less abundant berries, insects, vegetation and other prey, bears may increasingly turn to rabbits to satisfy their huge calorie requirements. In a study in Wyoming, bear predation eliminated 86% of a jackrabbit population during a food shortage year, but only 47% in a year with normal food.
So rabbits see population impacts beyond the usual spring vulnerability when bears are desperately hungry.
In hard times, bears even prey more heavily on adult rabbits rather than just favoring the young. Rabbits thus face their highest overall predation risk when natural food sources are limited and bears are nutritionally stressed.
Fortunately for rabbits, these lean years are the exception rather than the rule in most ecosystems.
How Black Bears Catch and Eat Rabbits
Hunting Strategies
Black bears employ various tactics to hunt rabbits, their favorite fuzzy snacks. As opportunistic omnivores, they often scavenge for prey but have been observed stalking rabbits by stealthily moving upwind before abruptly charging at them from as close as 10 yards away.
This lightning-quick ambush can cover 30 feet per second (source).
Bears also raid rabbit burrows by digging near dens or ripping into hollow logs and tree trunks. Their keen sense of smell helps locate nesting areas. In fact, bears can detect prey up to a mile away under windy conditions (source).
They’ve been known to move large rocks and tear apart rotting stumps in search of hiding rabbits.
Additionally, black bears climb trees in pursuit of tree-dwelling hares. Their non-retractable claws help them ascend with ease. Mother bears teach cubs to hunt small mammals like rabbits for sustenance post-hibernation (source).
Stalk-and-rush attacks help cubs hone vital skills through this small game hunting.
Consuming the Prey
Once caught, black bears kill rabbits with a bite to the head or neck. Their 42 large teeth can apply 1,200 pounds per square inch of pressure, enough to crush bones (source).
Compared to vegetable matter, rabbits offer highly digestible energy and fat for bears. In order to maximize caloric intake, black bears thoroughly consume their prey by crunching through bones. Highly acidic stomach acid and a simple gut allow them to dissolve entire carcasses, including fur, leaving only indigestible hair andfoot pads behind.
Interestingly, black bears do not hunt rabbits in winter when both species are hibernating in dens. Rabbits comprise only a small fraction of bear diets overall. While they opportunistically prey on rabbits in spring and summer, black bears largely subsist on vegetation including grasses, roots, berries, acorns, and insects.
Still, rabbits can provide much-needed nutrition for bears emerging from hibernation and late summer fattening periods before the return of winter.
Geographic Areas Where This Is Most Common
Northeast U.S.
The northeastern United States, including states like New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, is home to both black bears and rabbits like the New England cottontail. This makes it one of the most common areas for black bears to prey upon rabbits.
The dense forests of the northeast provide ample habitat for these species to overlap. According to research from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, cottontail rabbits make up over 50% of the black bear’s diet during spring and summer in New York.
This is likely similar throughout New England where bears emerge hungry from hibernation. With rabbits abundant and vulnerable to predators, they become easy pickings for black bears.
Coastal Southeast Alaska
Another hot spot for bear and rabbit interactions is the coastal regions of southeast Alaska. Here, black bears and snowshoe hares occupy the same forest and shrub habitats. One study in Alaska’s rainforests found that hares accounted for up to 45% of black bear’s summer diet.
The bears opportunistically prey on these small mammals as they forage. With hares experiencing population booms and crashes, the bears’ hunting pressure on them fluctuates as well. During peaks when hares are numerous, black bears can be a significant source of mortality.
Some bears even seem to specialize in hunting rabbits. Overall, the dense populations of bears and hares in Alaska’s coastal forests make for lots of run-ins between predator and prey.
Other Regions With Overlapping Habitats
While the northeast U.S. and southeast Alaska see the most black bear predation on rabbits, it can occur wherever the two species overlap. Black bears are found across much of North America in forested areas. Rabbits occupy a variety of habitats from deserts to mountains to wetlands.
Even in the western U.S., black bears are known to prey on species like desert cottontails and jackrabbits when given the opportunity. Any habitat with brush, shrubs, or woody plants that provide cover for rabbits can draw in foraging black bears.
Sometimes all it takes is a hungry bear wandering through the neighborhood for urban rabbits to become prey. Though not every interaction ends with the bear eating the bunny, they often take advantage of small mammals as part of their omnivorous diet.
Conclusion
In summary, black bears are omnivorous mammals that will eat rabbits on occasion as part of their varied diet. However, rabbits are not a primary food source that black bears rely on. The largest bears living in regions where rabbit populations are abundant are the most likely to prey on rabbits, especially in early spring when other foods are scarce.
By understanding where and when black bears hunt rabbits, both species can better coexist in shared habitats.
