Filling up on berries before winter

This was a very quick, distant photo and poor quality, unfortunately. Friends Cathy, Terry, and I, watched this cinnamon Black Bear and a black Black Bear that was in the same bushes, for quite some time. These bushes were right at the edge of a pedestrian/bike pathway on one side, and the other side of the bushes was at the lake shore. This was just one quick moment that this bear could be seen properly - the rest of the time both bears were hidden or almost hidden by the berry-laden branches.

This photo was taken on 27 August 2014, the second day of a three-day trip down south. The first two days were spent in Waterton Lakes National Park and on the third day, we did quite a long drive east of the park before heading back to Calgary.

"The cinnamon bear (Ursus americanus cinnamomum) is a color phase of the American black bear, native to Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Washington, Wyoming, Alberta, and British Columbia. The most striking difference between a cinnamon bear and any other black bear is its brown or red-brown fur, reminiscent of cinnamon, from which the name is derived.

Cubs weigh approximately 230 grams (8 oz) at birth, with adults weighing between 92.1 and 270 kilograms (203 and 595 lb). The life span for this bear is a maximum of 30 years.

Cinnamon bears are excellent climbers, good runners, and powerful swimmers. They are mostly nocturnal, though sometimes active during daylight hours. The cinnamon and brown bears of this country are simply color phases of the black bear, the blondes and brunettes of the family. The various colors are frequently intermixed in the same family; hence it is a common occurrence to see a black bear female with brown cubs, a brown and a black cub, or even all three colors. The bears hibernate during the winter months, usually from late October or November to March or April depending upon the weather conditions. Their scat resembles that of domestic dogs." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon_bear

"Black bears are efficient berry-eaters, consuming up to 30,000 berries a day in a good year. They gather berries quickly, using their sensitive, mobile lips and swallowing them whole. The berries enter a two-part stomach, which grinds the pulp off the seeds. The seeds pass through the digestive tract unbroken and able to germinate, making black bears important seed dispersers. Each summer, they spread the seeds of their favorite berries all over their home ranges."

www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/foraging-a-foo...