Grizzly Bear Diet - Writers Forum

dwspig2 · 07-17-2007, 11:02 AM

Okay...

For my novel, the "villian" is a grizzly bear. I do not wish to portray it as a horrible, bloodthirsty killer though. It's just a normal bear. In order to manage this feat, I felt that I should include/mention foods that the grizzly ingurgitates aside from the occasional human being. I did some quick research through Wikipedia.org and some other sites, and found that grizzlies eat vegetable matter in the way of tubers, roots, and whitebark pine seeds/nuts.

Now, here's the question: what exactly are whitebark pine seeds/nuts? Can I call them cones? I think I like the sound of whitebark pine cones instead of seeds/nuts. It just fits the piece better in my opinion. I'll post the sentence, and you guys be the judge, but if cones works, I'm going to go with that probably. What do you all think, and can I call them cones or must I call the seeds/nuts?

Sentence:
"Until then, though, it wandered around the woods in search of nothing in particular as it nibbled on tubers, whitebark pine cones, and other delectable insignificances."

Mike C · 07-17-2007, 12:48 PM

Is google really that hard to use?

A bear eating whitebark pine seeds.

This is a whitebark pine seed - yes, it's a cone.

dwspig2 · 07-17-2007, 08:36 PM

No, Google is not hard to use, and please do not condescend on me like I'm some third grade researcher. I would not have asked here if I hadn't already done some of my own research. If you would have read my post, I did look on some sites as well as Wikipedia before asking here. I did find what grizzlies eat, but I wanted to know whether it can be called a cone or if it must be called a seed or a nut. That, one does not find in the image search at Google...

Please do not condescend on me again.

wmd · 07-17-2007, 08:52 PM

So you found the article on wikipedia that describe the diet of the bear, but did not use the links within that article to find out more about the food?

The image that comes up in a search looks like a cone to me.

A search on wikipedia for whitebark pine brings up an article that clearly calls them cones.

Be sure to thank us for doing your work for you

dwspig2 · 07-17-2007, 10:17 PM

Quote:

The image that comes up in a search looks like a cone to me.

Yes, I know what the seed looks like! I did look around the internet some. Is someone missing that point?

I didn't ask what it looks like. I know what a pinecone looks like. I want to know if it's going to seem obvious, or rather be wrong, if I call it a "cone" instead of a "seed" or "nut." That seems like a simple question to me, but someone may be able to booger it up and misconstrue it in the search for some deeper implication to those words. I assure you, though; I don't mean anything more than what stands there on your screen: I want to know if it's going to seem obvious, or rather be wrong, if I call it a "cone" instead of a "seed" or "nut."

mammamaia · 07-17-2007, 10:59 PM

they do NOT eat the cone part... only the seeds/nuts... you can call them 'pine nuts' since that what i call them and all the tribal folks i know call them...

they also eat a lot of fish... they're great anglers, can scoop a trout out of a stream in the blink of an eye... they eat berries, too...

dwspig2 · 07-17-2007, 11:07 PM

I have a whole chapter dedicated to the bear's fishing experience. I should post that and get some feedback about it, but I hate to do so because I have been rather...lax in my reading of other people's things. I feel as if I'm imposing then if I post something to be read. Anyhow, the point of finding something vegetable that they eat was to show that the bear isn't just a meat eater. I needed to show the duality about the bear, not just one side of it. Perhaps I should play up this side of it somewhere else too, or else it might be lost on the reader.

I thought that they ate berries as well, and even my sister said that they ate berries. I wanted to write berries, but after searching the internet I didn't find a reliable site that said they eat berries. I guess some people wouldn't consider Wikipedia all that reliable though.

lin · 07-18-2007, 12:33 AM

Stupid campers

Mike C · 07-18-2007, 05:24 AM

I hadn't been condescending until now. If I had been I would have made the following observation:

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwspig2

"Until then, though, it wandered around the woods in search of nothing in particular as it nibbled on tubers, whitebark pine cones, and other delectable insignificances."

Research is the least of your problems. You describe the bear like it's Pooh out wandering the Hundred Acre Woods with Piglet in tow looking for snacks, not like a foraging wild animal that spends a large proportion of it's time either replacing lost body fat from the last hibernation or buiding it up for the next. If you want to describe a bear realistically, then whimsical isn't the way to go. Disney already did that.

dwspig2 · 07-18-2007, 08:23 AM

Instead of bashing what I write, why don't you recommend some suggestions for its improvement.

lin · 07-18-2007, 10:34 AM

He is: doing real research until you know what bears eat and can tell US about it, not the other way around. A few quickie answers from a forum doesn't help you realize your main character better.

dwspig2 · 07-18-2007, 11:17 AM

I'm so happy I asked for guidance...

lin · 07-18-2007, 07:09 PM

And are getting it.

mammamaia · 07-18-2007, 08:33 PM

sample 'improvement':

Quote:

The lumbering giant methodically stripped the small woodland patch of all he could find that was edible. His great paws shook pine boughs as high as he could reach and piled up a mini-feast of the nuts that rained down from the tree's dry cones, half stuffing pawsful in his snout and half lapping them up with a tongue as large as some of the trout he preferred for a main course. He pulled up likely looking plants and ate the tender roots, then went looking for other delectables.

does that help some, dws?

hugs, maia

dwspig2 · 07-19-2007, 08:20 AM

Actually, that was a single sentence from a paragraph about the bear. Perhaps context would help make it better.

Lin, I tightened up the stuff about the bear foraging. Pointing out "foraging" over "hunting" is a good thing in this instance. Perhaps "nibbling" is not the right gerund either. I may be able to find something better. The point is, though, to point out that the bear is not causing any immediate danger; it just is, and it's doing what it does.

Mammania, I soooo wish I could use that what you have written, but I think that's going to go overboard. Perhaps not. It's great what you have written, though. I might work in with some changes so that I'm not plagarizing!!

- - - - -
The entire afternoon the bear had heard low vibrations throughout the woods, but it did not pay them much heed; the vibrations seemed distant and non-threatening. It continued to wander nonchalantly throughout the underbrush and sniffle here and there amongst the brambles in hopes of finding some morsel that would contribute to its stores of fat for the coming hibernation. Although it had recently fed at a nearby stream and did not really require anything to satiate a present hunger, the bear continued to forage during most of its waking hours in preparation for the long haul through the winter months. Soon the urge to sleep would start to send signals to its brain, and the bear would seek out a sheltering crevice amongst the rocks where it could sleep off the bulk of its meal. Until then, though, it moseyed around the woods in search of nothing in particular as it nibbled on tubers, whitebark pine seeds, and other delectable insignificances.