This grizzly bear was eating ash when I snapped this picture

Watch video about grizzly bear medicine
 

The largest volcanic eruption in the 20^th century occurred in Katmai National Park, which is why the area was originally given National Monument status.  Much of the park soil is volcanic ash, and grizzly bears eat this ash as a natural form of antacid.  This makes a lot of sense, given that meat, fish and nuts (at times a bulk of a bear’s diet) are highly acidic foods.  Some researchers believe grizzly bears also eat ash to get rid of parasites in the digestive tract.  Katmai is littered with clawed up holes of volcanic ash like the one in this picture, evidence that quite a few bears chew on ash to settle their stomachs.  

Grizzly bears and black bears also use a plant called Ligusticum porteri, which is in the lovage family, as an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal treatment.  The roots are swallowed to combat worms and bacterial infections.  Bears also spit the plant into their coats and massage the juice into their fur to kill parasites, ticks and fungi.  Bears prove their amazing intelligence as they use substances found in their environment as medicine. 

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