Living around humans, bears have developed a taste for people’s garbage because it is often higher in calories than their natural food sources. Below, common types of human foods are contrasted with how many acorns a bear would have to eat to get the same amount of calories.
A dozen eggs is 888 calories. That is equql to 234 acorns.
A pound of hot dogs is 1,456 calories. That is equal to 384 acorns.
A McDonald’s double cheeseburger combo is 1,620 calories. That is equal to 427 acorns.
A pound of Black oil sunflower seeds is 1,740 calories. That is equal to 458 acorns.
A dozen Jelly donuts is 2,640 calories. That is equal to 695 acorns.
A large Pepperoni Pizza is 17,352 calories. That is equal to 4,566 acorns.
Compare that to 25 pounds of Purina dog chow. That is 42,425 calories. That is equal to 11,165 acorns.
I think that now you are getting the picture why bears prefer human food over acrons. Plus acrons don’t taste that good!