I don’t remember where I first learned that acorns were a problem for bear hunters. Maybe I just made the connection that my baits were going dead at the same time the acorns were ripening and the activity at the baits was dying. Maybe I heard someone mention it. Regardless, this is a problem that I have seen every year in the entire 20+ years I have been seriously baiting bears. And it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I started diving deep into the relationship between bears and acorns. As I did, I discovered a remarkable relationship between the two that can greatly influence black bear populations, their behavior, and even migration patterns. Let’s have a look at this surprising natural and annual phenomenon.  

About 60 varieties of oaks are found in North America. The majority of oaks fall into the category of white oaks or red oaks, and these have some significant differences. There are several ways to tell them apart but the main one is that red oaks have pointy leaves, while white oaks have rounded leaves. There are differences in acorns as well, far too numerous to mention.  

And why do bear hunters need to know the difference between white oak varieties and red oak varieties? Because bears (and deer) much prefer to eat white oak acorns. Acorns of the red oak trees have more tannin in them, which gives them a bitter taste. The white oak acorns are not as bitter and bears will walk right across the red oak acorns to get to the white oak acorns. Where I live and bear hunt, the two most common oaks are the northern red oak and the burr oak. Burr oaks are white oaks and I actually have multiple trees of each on my property here in Minnesota. My personal observations make it very clear that the acorns of the burr oaks are much preferred by bears.  

Another main difference between whites and reds is the production of acorns. While white oaks can produce acorns every year, most red oak varieties only produce them every other year. The acorns grow on the red oaks, but do not mature in the first year of growth. The second year of growth the acorns fill out and ripen, usually beginning to drop around the first of September.  

Bear hunters talk about the acorn drop every year and bemoan the negative effect it has on the activity at bear baits. Keep in mind that the acorns do not have to drop; bears will climb trees and get the acorns they like. I have a burr oak right off the back deck of my house and I have bears in that tree breaking off branches and gobbling up acorns as high as they can get, and it all starts a couple weeks before the major acorn drop begins.  

One surprising thing about oak trees is that they actually can produce more acorns in years when they are stressed due to lack of rain. In years of drought, oak trees rob energy from leaves and bark to produce more acorns. It’s a survival mechanism designed to get them through tough times as a species. I used to marvel that in drought years when the berry crop fails, the acorn crop is still strong. Now I know why.  

The relationship between black bears and acorns is extremely strong. Acorns are high in carbohydrates, which can easily be converted into fat and stored for future use (and we all know what that future use is). Bears in a state of gorging themselves for months prior to going into the den are in a state of hyperphagia. They are looking to gobble up everything they can, which will help them store energy as fat to get them through a long period of not consuming anything during the winter. Acorns are nearly the perfect food to fill that need. For hundreds of generations, the acorn and the bear have been partners in the cycle of life.  

Black bears will travel long distances to get to the right acorns. GPS collars on bears have added some shocking data to our knowledge of bear migrations. We have proof now that some bears are traveling 30-90 miles one way to get to areas where white oak acorns are abundant. In about the middle of August, they pack up and move out from areas where there are few acorns and travel to where food is abundant. They will stay for 4-7 weeks and then head back to their spring and summer range once they have put on sufficient fat reserves. So, if your bait goes dead and you’re certain the bears are off eating acorns, you’re probably right, but you probably thought they were eating from oak trees nearby when in fact they may be 50-plus miles away and won’t be back until after the hunting season is over.  

Acorns can affect bear populations in surprising ways. Black bears breed mostly in June, but the eggs do not implant into the uterus of the sow until she goes into the den in the late fall. If that sow is fat and sassy and goes into the den in great shape, those eggs will implant and grow into cubs. If she is in poor shape with just enough fat to survive the winter, the eggs can resorb and she will come out of the den in the spring without cubs in tow. The amount of high-carbohydrate foods (often acorns) she has access to can influence how many cubs she has or if she reproduces at all that particular year. Acorns can greatly affect how many cubs are born each winter.  

All of this begs the question, “Why not just bait with acorns?” And the answer to that is very surprising. It just doesn’t seem to work. In fact, I have tried it, and the attempt fell flat. Bears ignored the acorns on my bait pile while they grazed on the acorns spread out across the ground. The only explanation I have is that the acorns in a bait pile were just too unnatural for them. Bears do what they are designed to do and it sure is hard to get them to break a pattern that is as old as black bears themselves.  

I’d like to hear from others who have paid attention to the bears’ relationship with oak trees and the acorns they produce. If you have tried baiting with acorns and found success, let me know, because so far I don’t know of anyone who has had any sustained success using them as bait. In the meantime, pay attention to the oak trees in your area; the bears know where they are, and you should too!