Be Smarter than the Average Bear
Rufus Leakin
Guru of Folklore

What's bigger than a picnic basket and even better than one in the eyes of the black bears that inhabit Yosemite National Park?

A study published this month in the Journal of Mammalogy says it's minivans driven by families with children who leave behind a trail of spilled juice boxes, Cheerios and coolers carrying other snacks.

Park scientists have found that the bears tore up minivans more frequently than other types of vehicles. It found that minivans represented 29% of the 908 vehicles torn into by bears between 2001 and 2007, even though they made up just 7% of the cars that visited Yosemite.

The researchers investigated the relationship after noticing that bears seemed to target that particular vehicle type.

Yogi Bear in the Hanna-Barra cartoons always quipped that he was, "Smarter than the average bear." Well, it would appear that the average bear is actually pretty smart.

How dumb does a camper have to be to not know that trails of cereal, snacks and juice might attract bears? Certainly camping is not for everyone. Some people would just as soon lodge in a rented log cabin with cable TV and a hot tub than a tent on the cold, hard ground.

However, every good camper (and Boy Scout and Girl Scout) should know how to pack food and store trash so as to not make themselves easy targets. Your food should always be kept sealed to reduce scent, and you should never cook very near to where you plan to sleep.

Some campgrounds will provide poles that allow you to hang or store your food out of reach of animals, and will also provide (relatively) tamper-proof cans for trash.

Be sure to familiarize yourself with the campgrounds before your trip and read up on how to deter encounters with wildlife in order to have a safe, happy camping experience. Take it from this former Boy Scout ≠ you'll take home happier memories and all your arms and legs.

Visit this website for more safety details: http://www.mountainnature.com/wildlife/Bears/BearCampingTips.htm



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