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When you picture a bear in the wild, you might think of a lone giant lumbering through the woods. But bears are more than that. They are keystone species with a powerful influence on the entire ecosystem around them. Let’s explore the many reasons why bears matter to forests, and you.

Keystone Species of the Forest Ecosystem

In ecology, a keystone species has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance. Bears perfectly exemplify this concept. In North America (including the United States and Canada), bears such as the American black bear and the grizzly bear (a subspecies of brown bear) act as forest ecosystem engineers and caretakers.

Through hunting, foraging, and (naturally) digestion, they help regulate prey populations, aerate the soil, disperse seeds, and cycle nutrients in the ecosystem. In simpler terms, if bears were to disappear, no other animal could fill their role, and the forest's natural ecosystem would change dramatically.

Consider the greater food web: bears are apex predators and omnivores. They do occasionally prey on other animals, but perhaps even more importantly, their mere presence influences the behavior of prey species, such as deer and moose. Wild bears instill a healthy “fear” in these herbivores, preventing overgrazing of plants.

Deer that know bears (or other large predators) are around won’t linger to devour all the saplings in one spot – they stay on the move. This constant movement of herbivores means vegetation has a better chance to grow back, and it even causes deer to stir up the soil as they flee, naturally tilling the ground.

Without predators like bears, deer, and other prey species can multiply and overeat young trees and shrubs, which degrades the forest. We saw a famous example of this in Yellowstone National Park, where wolves (another predator) were removed– vegetation suffered, and entire food chains went out of balance, until predators were reintroduced to restore order. Like wolves, bears help maintain ecosystem balance by regulating prey populations and preventing habitat overuse.

Bears also act as natural janitors of the forest. As scavengers, they often feed on carrion (animal carcasses) or fish remains, which helps clean up the environment and recycle nutrients. In the coastal forests of the Pacific Northwest, for example, bears drag salmon carcasses from streams into the woods when feeding. Those discarded fish remains are rich in nitrogen and other nutrients; as they decompose, they fertilize the soil and plants nearby.

Ecologists have even found that the health of a forest can reflect the health of the salmon runs in nearby rivers – the two are interconnected through bears’ foraging habits. In this way, bears and fish work together to nourish the land. The nutrient cycling provided by bears’ feeding habits boosts plant growth and supports a wider variety of vegetation.

Bears and Seed Dispersal

One of the most vital roles bears play is as seed dispersers – essentially, forest gardeners planting the next generation of trees and shrubs. How do these huge animals plant seeds? The secret is in their diet and digestive systems.

Bears love to eat berries, fruits, nuts, and other plant materials. A bear might spend hours in an alpine berry patch or oak grove, munching away. Unlike some smaller animals that might destroy seeds by chewing, bears typically swallow fruits whole, and the tough seeds pass through their digestive tract unharmed.

Later, the bear deposits the seeds in its scat (droppings), often far from the parent plant, as it wanders over many kilometers. Each scat comes with its dollop of natural fertilizer, providing a nutrient-rich bed for the seeds to sprout.

The scale of seed dispersal by bears is astonishing. Scientists have estimated that brown and black bears can disperse more than 200,000 seeds per hour, per square kilometer during peak foraging season. Each pile of bear scat is packed with seeds – one analysis of a single black bear scat in Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado, United States) found it contained about 1,200 tree seedlings ready to grow. Thanks to bears, forests regenerate, and new plants colonize different areas, which maintains high plant diversity.

Even in regions without fruiting plants, bears make a significant contribution. In some northern forests, bears dig for edible roots, tubers, or burrowing rodents. This digging behavior turns over the soil (much like a rototiller), helping to aerate it and mix nutrients.

While bears’ digging can uproot small plants, in the big picture, it creates patches of exposed soil where new seedlings can establish, thus enhancing forest regeneration. Ecologists sometimes affectionately refer to bears as “forest farmers” or ecosystem engineers because their foraging activities open up the soil and create conditions that ultimately help new life take root.

Soil Enrichment and Water Resources

Bears don’t just spread seeds – they also enrich the soil and even influence our water resources. As mentioned earlier, when bears carry nutrient-rich foods like salmon or ungulate carcasses into the forest, they are adding fertilizers to the earth.

A carcass left by a bear infuses the ground with nitrogen, phosphorus, and other minerals vital for plants. This boost in soil fertility means surrounding trees and plants grow stronger and faster, creating a lusher forest canopy that captures more carbon and produces more oxygen. Healthy plant growth is beneficial for forests and climate stability, as vigorous forests act as carbon sinks, absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

There’s also a connection between bears, forests, and clean water. Think of a dense, healthy forest with rich undergrowth and soils – such a forest is excellent at trapping rainfall, filtering water, and preventing erosion.

Conversely, if bear activity declines and herbivore overbrowsing increases (due to the absence of predators), forests can become degraded: vegetation cover thins out, soils become compacted or eroded, and water quality in streams can deteriorate due to runoff and sediment. In this way, the bears’ role in promoting plant growth and balanced herbivore numbers trickles down (literally) to the water we drink.

Why Protecting Bears Also Protects Us

Bears play a significant role in maintaining the health of forests. They spread seeds, cycle nutrients through the soil, and keep plant-eating animals like deer in check. All of that helps forests grow stronger, more diverse, and more resilient. And here's the thing: we depend on those same forests for things we all need, like clean air, freshwater, and climate stability.

When we protect bears, we're also protecting the ecosystems they help maintain. And that benefits all of us. Think of it this way, if a forest is healthy enough to support bears, it's also healthy enough to support people. That’s why bears are often called indicator species: their presence tells us that the environment is in good shape.

But it’s not just about environmental science, it’s also about real-life human benefits. In places like the United States and Canada, healthy bear populations often support local economies through tourism and outdoor recreation. People travel from all over the world to see bears in the wild, especially in national parks like those in Alaska or the Rocky Mountains.

Challenges and Conservation & Rescue Efforts

Despite their importance, bear populations face major challenges. The biggest is habitat loss, driven by human activities like deforestation, urban growth, and resource extraction. As wild spaces shrink, human-wildlife conflict rises, bears wander into towns in search of food sources, often with tragic outcomes.

Historically, overhunting and poaching severely reduced numbers, especially for species like the grizzly bear, once widespread across North America, now limited to a few strongholds in the United States. Climate change adds pressure by disrupting plant growth, water availability, and hibernation cycles.

Thankfully, strong conservation and rescue efforts are underway. Protected areas like national parks, along with support from the National Park Service and wildlife agencies, are helping safeguard bears and restore their habitats. Projects like the grizzly reintroduction in Washington’s North Cascades aim to reestablish bears as keystone species and forest ecosystem engineers, restoring vital processes like seed dispersal, nutrient cycling, and predator-prey balance.

Conservationists are also creating wildlife corridors to help bears move safely across fragmented landscapes and promoting coexistence through education and bear-safe practices.

Indigenous leadership, such as from First Nations in Canada and Native American tribes in the US, continues to shape bear conservation with deep-rooted ecological and cultural wisdom. Your support is also key. Whether it's learning how to camp responsibly or advocating for protected land, everyone has a role in ensuring bears—and the ecosystems they support—have a future.

Rescued Bears as Ambassadors

Not everyone will see a bear in the wild, but rescued bears in accredited sanctuaries across North America play a powerful role in education and awareness. Places like Lions Tigers & Bears give lifelong homes to bears who can't go back to the wild, while also giving people a chance to see them and, learn about different bear species, and understand why rescue matters.

These ambassador bears help shift how people see wildlife. We see the struggles they had to overcome due to the wildlife trafficking trade. They show us that bears are not just strong, but smart, emotional, and essential to keeping our ecosystems healthy. Their presence bridges the gap between people and nature, and reminds us that wild bears belong in the wild.If you care about protecting wildlife and the forests they call home, one of the simplest things you can do is support sanctuaries like Lions Tigers & Bears. LTB rescues and rehabilitates neglected bears, and also brings awareness to their plights in the wild. Your support helps to make this possible.