Earlier, in reference to a black bear's diet, I pointed out that black bears will eat rotting carcasses of dead animals that they may come across. To a bear, carrion is even more appealing if it has maggots in it since the developing fly larvae add to the protein content of the meat. A large portion of the meat in a bear's diet is from animals that the bear did not itself kill. Thus, it is not unusual to find a bear rummaging through a compost pile in Petra, Maine.