Bears find combat rations buffet at Alaska military base

() – There is an old military saying that an Army feeds from its stomach, meaning that troops need to be well supplied with food to survive the harsh conditions of the battlefield.

In modern times, the U.S. Army stockpiles “meals ready to eat” (MREs)—complete meals that can be consumed simply by opening a bag—to sustain troops in the field.

And recently, in Alaska, MREs found new fans: hungry bears that broke into a storage room at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to feast on military rations.

On October 28, staff from JBER’s Office of Wildlife Conservation and Law Enforcement – ​​often pronounced, appropriately, as “J-Bear” – responded to reports of a bear in a room storage at the base. Upon arriving at the scene, they found that the room had been the site of a bear feast, with open food containers scattered everywhere, according to a statement from the base.

Images sent to by the base showed open MREs scattered on the ground, although it is unclear what flavors they were. Apparently, the bears also had a sweet tooth, as an open package of M&Ms was visible in the mess.

But the needs of bears and those of humans are very different. An average human needs between 1,600 and 3,000 calories a day. A bear needs 10 times that amount.

An average MRE contains about 1,250 calories, although cold-weather MREs – which the bears apparently got into – have a little more than 1,540 calories, according to the Defense Logistics Agency.

But the bears aren’t just targeting food at the base near Anchorage.

In another incident on November 2, JBER personnel responded to a call about a bear inside a building in the vehicle zone.

Upon arriving at the scene, officers observed a 1-year-old bear sitting in the driver’s seat of a Humvee.

Staff then opened several exterior doors and “used tactics to get the bear’s attention” and subsequently carried it out of the building, according to a statement from JBER.

The base responds to about 600 bear reports a year, but incidents in which bears gain access to buildings are “very rare,” a base spokesperson told . Most of these calls require little or no intervention and are just bears passing through the area, they added.

But bears can sniff out a meal, officials noted.

“When more natural foods for bears, such as berries, crab apples and salmon, become scarce, bears will look for other sources,” explained James Wendland, JBER wildlife conservation officer with the 673rd Civil Engineer Squadron. “Bears are opportunists and will follow their nose in search of food, even if that is in open buildings or unlocked vehicles.”