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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Outdoors blog

Dandelion: The weed that feeds

Dandelion. (Rich Landers)
Dandelion. (Rich Landers)

WILDLIFE WATCHING -- I was driving through Canada's Kootenay National Park in spring early in the morning one year when I spotted a black bear paralleling the highway in the vegetation along the road.  I stopped and watched. The bear walked for a quarter mile eating the blossoms off dandelions like a kid in a candy store.

A few days ago, I filled my second tag in Washington's spring gobbler hunt.  When I checked the crop of my tom, it was full of dandelion blossoms.  He'd been taking advantage of the spring bloom.

Dandelion's are the weed that feeds wildlife.



Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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