Black bears eat almost nonstop in fall to survive winter. How many calories does one consume in a day?

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A black bear eats up to 20,000 calories a day during its fall binge, a stretch biologists call hyperphagia, after a summer of 5,000 to 8,000 daily calories. Then it dens up and will not eat, drink or pass waste for months, living entirely off the stored fat.

A black bear eats up to 20,000 calories a day before winter, then goes months without food, water or a bathroom break.

Source: US National Park Service (Great Smoky Mountains); North American Bear Center; Spector et al., Physiological Reports 2015 · checked Sep 2026