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Yosemite Bears like Minivans

You can read the article in the Journal of Mammalogy. 



Smart(ish) bear tricks, part 6½

Posted by jeffreytrust under Bears, Smart Bear Tricks | Tags: Bears |

A few months ago, I posted a story about a bear who opened a car car door then got stuck in the car when the door closed behind him.

Apparently, this isn’t uncommon, because it just happened in Colorado. (I’ve heard bears in Colorado have also figured out to use the door handles to open car doors.)


We’re going to need some backup here: Car thief turns out to be… a hungry bear

By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 4:02 PM on 16th October 2009

With the alarm blaring and a shadowy figure rummaging around in the vehicle it looked like just another car theft in progress.

But when the police arrived they realise they might need more than handcuffs to collar this intruder.

For it was not a human, but a bear, that had lumbered into the vehicle.

The animal had apparently crept up to the unlocked car, opened the door and climbed inside.

Read the rest of the article (includes pictures!)…

 

Bear canister turns into bear’s canister

Posted by jeffreytrust under Bears | Tags: Bears, Yosemite |

Dennis Olson writes:

We are all like bears. We are omnivores and eat a wide variety of foods. So do bears. We walk on two legs. So do bears sometimes… To Native people, bears are us, or at least a part of us. That wild, untamable side of us is the part that becomes the bear, when we let it. Bears put on the intellectual skins of humans and walk among us. We put on the emotional skins of humans and disappear into the dark mystery of the forest.

After many years of using this quote, I’m still finding it more and more true each year. I’ve written about several examples of bears putting on the intellectual skins of humans. I’ve also seen bears stand on two legs and maybe even take a few steps. But, I’ve never seen this:

(If the video bored you and you didn’t watch it to the end, go back and watch the last few seconds.)

PS: As interesting as it is to see a video like this, I can’t help but be frustrated that so many people don’t know how important it is to scare bears from Yosemite’s developed areas (make sure you know the local rules wherever you happen to see a bear… you wouldn’t want to scare away a bear in Yellowstone, for instance).



The first snow of the season is always exciting, and today it has come.

I slept in rather late and when I awoke, I noticed it was dark outside, which reminded me there was a chance or rain or snow today. So, I looked more carefully outside and saw that it was precipitating! And I looked toward the ground, and found it covered in white. It was snowing!

Where I live, around 6,000 feet, we got about an inch of snow. Sort of nice. But am I ready for winter yet? Clearing storm as viewed from Turtleback Dome webcam. (Photo courtesy of the Yosemite Association: please support YA!)
