A greater number of anthropogenic diets were higher in carbohydrate and lower in protein than the intake target; conversely, there were a greater number of natural diets higher in protein and lower in carbohydrate relative to the intake target of captive bears. Of note, confidence regions around the mean summer anthropogenic diet included the upper end of the intake target region for protein, while an individual diet point lied near to the 17% target line, indicating that the preferred ratio self‐selected by captive bears is also achievable during summer for some bear populations consuming human‐sourced foods.