Tasha has climbed the red maple (Acer rubrum) several times to eat the flowers, and Holly has licked the trunk where the bark is missing. In the wild, too, we have seen bears climb these trees to eat the flowers. 
Red maple flowersRed maple is one of the earliest trees to flower in spring as winter wanes. Winter showed itself a little today, piling snow on the flowers. I’m waiting to see if the 18 degrees Fahrenheit we saw a few days ago killed the flowers, preventing them from turning into seeds, which black bears also eat. Red maple sap can be used to make maple syrup, but it has only half the sugar found in sugar maple (Acer saccharum). Black bears don’t need to be taught what to eat. They know what is good. When Tasha and Holly find wild foods in their enclosure, they do the same as the wild bears do.
With only 3 spots open for the existing Black Bear Field Courses, we may open an August 6-9 course. If that sounds good, email your contact information to
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center