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So the way they come to the 40K number is since each moth is about 1/2 calorie, and the bear requires at least 20k calories a day, then they must eat 40k moths/

by ugh123 9y ago

So the way they come to the 40K number is since each moth is about 1/2 calorie, and the bear requires at least 20k calories a day, then they must eat 40k moths/day. Hmm

quadrangle 9y ago
I read it as just telling us that 40k moths per day at 1/2 calorie each = 20k calories. They just did that math for us. Beyond that, they carelessly omitted the info about how the 40k number was estimated. But I'm not sure. Definitely unclear mediocre writing in that sense.
kbutler 9y ago
No. The 20k calories was to illustrate how much the bears could get from this food source, not part of the # moths estimation.
maxerickson 9y ago
Someone counted the moths in scat.
- maxerickson 9y ago
  Seriously, counting moths in scat contributed to the estimate: White made that estimation by watching grizzlies with a scope for up to 14 hours per day, while writing his dissertation on the animals at Montana State University-Bozeman. He also counted how many dead moths he could find in each bear “scat,” or pile of poo, and multiplied that by the number of times these bears defecated. http://www.newsweek.com/grizzly-bears-can-eat-40000-moths-day-400281 http://www.newsweek.com/grizzly-bears-can-eat-40000-moths-da...
cushychicken 9y ago
Part of what's missing from this is an explanation of how bears feed before they go into hibernation. Bears are opportunistic in the extreme when preparing to hibernate - they feed single-mindedly on the easiest, most plentiful sources of calories they can find. There's actually some evidence to suggest that the bears have a means of knowing what's calorie rich (maybe through flavor? I dunno). It's well documented that salmon-fed Alaskan bears rarely eat the whole fish - they just yank off and eat the skin, which has the most fat and, consequently, the highest calorie-to-volume ratio. They obliquely refer to this with the example about the black bear eating moths until full, then going off to nap. He found a good source of calories, ate his fill, then stopped because he couldn't eat anymore.

by ugh123 9y ago

So the way they come to the 40K number is since each moth is about 1/2 calorie, and the bear requires at least 20k calories a day, then they must eat 40k moths/day. Hmm

quadrangle 9y ago

I read it as just telling us that 40k moths per day at 1/2 calorie each = 20k calories. They just did that math for us. Beyond that, they carelessly omitted the info about how the 40k number was estimated. But I'm not sure. Definitely unclear mediocre writing in that sense.

kbutler 9y ago

No. The 20k calories was to illustrate how much the bears could get from this food source, not part of the # moths estimation.

maxerickson 9y ago

Someone counted the moths in scat.

maxerickson 9y ago
Seriously, counting moths in scat contributed to the estimate: White made that estimation by watching grizzlies with a scope for up to 14 hours per day, while writing his dissertation on the animals at Montana State University-Bozeman. He also counted how many dead moths he could find in each bear “scat,” or pile of poo, and multiplied that by the number of times these bears defecated. http://www.newsweek.com/grizzly-bears-can-eat-40000-moths-day-400281 http://www.newsweek.com/grizzly-bears-can-eat-40000-moths-da...

cushychicken 9y ago

Part of what's missing from this is an explanation of how bears feed before they go into hibernation. Bears are opportunistic in the extreme when preparing to hibernate - they feed single-mindedly on the easiest, most plentiful sources of calories they can find. There's actually some evidence to suggest that the bears have a means of knowing what's calorie rich (maybe through flavor? I dunno). It's well documented that salmon-fed Alaskan bears rarely eat the whole fish - they just yank off and eat the skin, which has the most fat and, consequently, the highest calorie-to-volume ratio. They obliquely refer to this with the example about the black bear eating moths until full, then going off to nap. He found a good source of calories, ate his fill, then stopped because he couldn't eat anymore.