Bears

And the answer to the question: Why don't the rangers just move the problem bears?

at: http://www.sierrawildbear.gov/biology/anatomy.htm

find info about the size

"Male black bears rarely reach 400 pounds (180 kg) and females may grow to 250 (112.5 kg)

colorings

"Despite their name, the coat color of black bears range from yellow through various shades of brown to black. About 95% of bears in the Sierra Nevada are some shade of brown and only about 5% are a true black color. "

and General Physiology

"Black bears are similar to humans in many ways."

of black bears

at http://www.sierrawildbear.gov/biology/hibernation.htm

"Black bears in the Sierra Nevada usually den from mid-December into March or early April. This time period is shorter than in areas with harsher winters.

at http://www.sierrawildbear.gov/biology/reproduction.htm

"If a sow is healthy enough, she will give birth during hibernation inside the den in late January or February." and there are great pictures of baby bears

http://www.sierrawildbear.gov/biology/foodandfeedinghabits.htm

"Meadow plants, grasses and tender herbs are the most important food source before the berries and nuts ripen in late summer."

http://www.sierrawildbear.gov/biology/communication.htm

tells us that "Bears are often seen in movies and television standing on their two hind legs, growling and looking quite ferocious. In real life however, black bears stand bipedal when they are trying to get a better look or smell at something that has peaked their curiosity, and growling is rarely a sound that you will hear from a black bear."

This page tells you what huffing, in-out huffing, bawling, grunting, jaw-popping, tooth –clicking, and moaning from a black bear means.

They also note that "while a vast majority of the Sierra black bear population lives an entire 10-30 year lifespan without coming into contact with humans, others are not so fortunate. Some black bears in the Sierra Nevada have learned to capitalize on opportunities to dine on unprotected garbage sources or food that has been left unsecured."

The guiding principle of the Sierra Interagency Black Bear Group is to never underestimate an animal you can teach to ride a bicycle...

From Yosemite National park, Bear Facts - August 15-21, 2004

"Bears express themselves vocally. Many visitors have been treated to a late night wake up by a bear moaning in the tree above their tent. The moaning is a display of disappointment. Also, bears often huff while in the tree as a show of annoyance. This week we saw two bears in one tree. One was moaning and the other was huffing!"

San Diego Natural History Museum

Bear Sign: tracks, scat

http://www.sdnhm.org/fieldguide/mammals/bearsign.html

field guide: http://www.sdnhm.org/fieldguide/mammals/ursu-ame.html

The Yosemite page about bear biology and feeding habits as well as Black Bear Management: a look at the past and future are at:

http://www.nps.gov/yose/nature/bears.htm

black bears field guide

http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/showSpeciesADVSTD.asp?curGroupID=5&range=1014&display=2&curPageNum=98&recnum=MA0013

How hibernating bears stay fit

http://www.calacademy.org/science_now/archive/headline_science/black_bear.html

From the Yosemite Daily report:

"Bears shed (molt) their fur annually during the spring and summer. Often times, the new fur is a darker color. The molt generally starts around the feet and head. During the different stages of the molt, bears sometimes appear to have on socks or have a bleached 'Mohawk' down their back."

"Cubs are born in January or February weighing approximately 8 ounces. When they emerge from the den with their mother about 3 months later they weigh 10-12 lbs. Cubs generally stay with their mother until the end of their second spring. Yearlings are currently separating from their mothers and will be seen alone in the park. They are often mistaken for cubs due to their small size, usually weighing between 50-90 lbs."

"Bears are capable of standing upright on their hind legs. They stand unaided to observe or increase sight distance, to fight, and to reach to feed, prey, or mark. Bears do not attack in this position, though they may raise their upper body to better reach and grasp their prey or enemy. The American black bear can walk bipedally, but only for a few steps."

"While searching for insects, a black bear yearling was observed flipping over a 320 pound rock using only a single foreleg. This young bear weighed only 120 pounds."

This photo is from the National Park Service historic photo collection:

There are an estimated 300 to 400 black bears in Yosemite National Park

A four minute video about bears and food storage is at: http://www.nps.gov/yose/bears/fdvideo.htm

This is what Yosemite Park recommends about food storage: (advice from 2006/7 with some notes from 2002,3,4&5

To see bears breaking into cars and get the most current advice, watch the video at:

http://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=FDE421A6-91D6-8489-2DF28939BB23391D

Food Storage

"Bears have a voracious appetite. They also are incredibly curious and have an amazing sense of smell. This combination sometimes leads them to look for our calorie-rich food. Sometimes bears that routinely get our food become aggressive, and sometimes have to be killed as a result. By storing your food properly, you can prevent a bear's needless death.

Please note that these food storage regulations have the force and effect of federal law: Failure to store your food properly may result in impoundment of your food or car and/or a fine of up to $5,000."

What is food? “Food” includes any item with a scent, regardless of packaging. This may include items that you do not consider food, such as canned goods, bottles, drinks, soaps, cosmetics, toiletries, perfumes, trash, ice chests (even when empty), and unwashed items used for preparing or eating meals."

Storing food

In your car

You may store food in your car only during daylight hours. Do not store food in your car after dark: use a food locker. Remember to clear your car of food wrappers, crumbs in baby seats, and baby wipes. Even canned food and drinks must be removed from your car."

a note from spring 2005:

"There were 2 vehicle break-ins in Camp 4 this week. Both break-ins occurred due to scented items as small as a single pack of gum or tube of toothpaste being left in the vehicles."

Air out your car if you eat burgers on the way to the park.

You can't trust your own nose; look around the car, including under the seats, thoroughly. Take the gum wrappers out of the ashtray. Hey, no heavily scented air fresheners hanging from the rear-view mirror! The child seat has food spilled on it, scrub it before the trip.

No bottle of brake fluid or spray can of deicer showing, the bears don't know it's not food and will break into your car because they see an item the shape of a food container. Remove night crawlers and salmon eggs from the fishing gear. A day pack/backpack is a food container to a bear. Leaving an empty one on the front seat could cause a break-in. The best policy is to have your car interior cleaned out of all gear visible through the windows.

below a warning note a Tuolumne ranger put on a car (not one of ours) and a bear's eye view in the window:

The Yosemite Park website said in 2004:

"• Bears have damaged cars for as little as a stick of gum or an empty soda can, so thoroughly search you car and remove all potential bear attractants. Bears can clearly smell any food in a car, even when it's stored in the vehicle's trunk!

• Bears recognize ice chests, grocery bags, and other food-related supplies. Such items, even when empty, have residual odors. Remove them from vehicles and store them securely. Also remove drinks, garbage, and scented articles such as soap, sunscreen, and toothpaste from vehicles. Don't forget to check the glove compartment!

• Clear your car's interior of clutter. This will reduce the chances of a bear mistaking an article for food, and increase the chances that you will find any stray french fries or other overlooked food. Child car seats should be reasonably clean--they often have residual food smells.

• Remove all trash and place it in animal-resistant trash cans or dumpsters."

Please use the clip on the trash bin to lock it:

"In your campsite or Housekeeping Camp unit

You must store all your food in food lockers. Bears may enter campsites even in your presence, and some will even check bear boxes to see if they’re latched.

· Keep your locker closed and latched at all times, just like you would a freezer.

· Only have the food out that you are actually using; if you're not using it, put it back into the food locker.

· Finally, treat your trash like food: keep it in your food locker or dispose of it in a bear-proof dumpster; do not leave it sitting out.

Lodging

• Remove all food and food-related items from vehicles.

• Guests staying in hard-sided cabins must store such supplies indoors.

• Guests staying in canvas tent-cabins must store food and related items in lockers (ask at front desk for locker locations).

• Clean out trash, empty food containers, and scented articles from vehicles before leaving them parked overnight.

In 2005 they noted:

In your hotel room or cabin

You must keep all food inside your room; if you are not in the room, the windows and doors must be closed. Bears can easily break into cabins through an open door or open window.

Bears can get into locked rooftop car storage pods.

"Each campsite contains one food locker for your use at no charge. Additional lockers are not available, so plan to bring only the amount of food, drinks, and toiletries that will fit in one locker. The inside of each locker measures 33 in. deep by 45 in. wide by 18 in. high (83 cm x 114 cm x 45 cm)."

Logistics on fitting everything in one, especially with a big group, are at: Using a campsite food storage locker

_____________________________________________________________________

FAQ: How can I keep bears or coyotes or ... out of my campsite?

You can't.

A bear may enter your campsite day or night, even in the presence of many people, large dog(s), a big campfire or lots of lights. Running your vehicle engine or generator, playing loud music, trying various 'repellents' (mothballs, an open bleach container, dog or cat in-the-garden repellent, etc.) will not work.

(2004) "Stay close to your food, and put it away as soon as you are finished eating. Bears may enter picnic areas, even when people are present, so be prepared to repel them."

From a Yosemite Daily Report of June, 2004:

Bears are getting food from visitors that are too far from their food.(Farther than arms length is too far and any food behind the back is an invitation.)

Park Service photos:

From the San Francisco Chronicle - June 6, 2004

People Create Bear Problem

by Tom Stienstra

In my latest visit to Yosemite this weekend, I've concluded it's unlikely the bear problem will ever be solved here. There were 13 more bear incidents reported in the past week, bringing the total to 60 already for the spring season, up 97 percent from last year.

You probably know why, of course. It's always been a people problem, not a bear problem.

For most park visitors, the bears resemble cartoon characters; seeing one validates the vacation. I've seen experienced campers on their last night leave out an open tub of butter on a picnic table to entice a bear into their camp, impress the family and get pictures.

Hey, if you were a bear, what would you rather eat? Grass, ants, termites and bugs under rocks, or a tub of butter?

At Yosemite, Yogi is definitely smarter than your average bear. Bears learn quickly each June that they can just amble into a campsite at about 8 p. m., merely glance at the day's newly arrived campers, elicit shrieks and shouts and then nab any leftovers sitting out.

The bears are like UPS drivers on their rounds, going from campsite to campsite, with each bear working its nightly route. "So, whatcha got for little ol' me?" Every day, a new camper shows up, and the shock-and-awe effect usually nets at least a leftover hot dog...

...Then there is the story of the tourists from Europe who didn't think it was so funny.

This was in Wawona in south Yosemite, where the four tourists charged into the ranger station, shouting in hysterics that their "rental car had been bombed by terrorists." The proof, they said, was the "powder residue from the explosive" all over the back seat.

Rangers examined the crime scene and discovered that the "powder residue" was actually pancake mix -- along with a paw print in the middle of the back seat.

how bears get into cars

The main method is by putting their claws into the top of your door frame and pulling down on the door, much like the lid on a sardine can opens. Once in the car sometimes they will claw through the back seat to get into the trunk. Another method is to bust your tailight out and reach into the trunk. (I read somewhere, but lost the source, of bears jumping up and down on the roof of a particular car model to get the doors to pop open, but this sounds like a not-quite-so-urban rumor.)

One bear was not breaking windows, it learned how to open car door handles, and the park recommended locking car doors ( as weell as removing all scented items, etc.). Another became trapped in a car and was found sleeping on the back seat in the morning.

From The Bear Facts (July 13 - July 19, 2003)

"Six vehicles were damaged by a bear in the Curry Village area last week, all vehicles contained food.

A large untagged/uncollared bear has been seen in Upper Pines and the Wilderness Lot, checking for improperly latched food storage lockers. Visitors have reported this bear going from site to site, banging on the locker latch. Unfortunately, the bear obtained food on at least three occasions from improperly latched lockers."

From the Daily Report of Thursday, July 31, 2003

Bears broke in to twenty vehicles last week, many containing a significant amount of human food. Most of the damage occurred in the Curry Village parking lots and at the Ahwahnee Hotel.

At the edge of some campgrounds you might see a trap:

from the website in 2007:

what to do if you see a bear

You may not see a bear during your visit because bears naturally avoid people. If you do see a bear, what you should do depends on the situation. In any case, always let a ranger know or leave a message at 209/372-0322.

If you are in a developed area (e.g., campground, parking lot, lodging area), act immediately to scare it away. Maintain a safe distance while making as much noise as possible. (Yelling or banging pots together works; don't worry about waking people up if it's nighttime.) If there is more than one person, stand together to present a more intimidating figure, but do not surround the bear.

Throw small stones or pine cones toward the bear, being carefull not to strike the bear on the head.

(The intent is not to harm the bear, but to scare it from the area and restore its natural fear of people by providing a negative experience. A group got carried away and stoned a young bear to death, so be more careful.)

If the bear returns, repeat.

(Give the bear a wide,  w   i   d   e   path to run away).

If you see a bear anywhere else, keep your distance (at least 50 yards, or about the distance four parked shuttle buses would take up). If you get closer, you will be helping the bear become used to being around people. Bears that become comfortable around people lose their natural fear of us and sometimes become too aggressive; sometimes they then have to be killed.

Don't do any of this if you are between a mama bear and her cub, or more importantly, NEVER get between mama and her cub(s).

When a ranger sees a bear, the ranger may use non-lethal aversive tactics to chase bears out of developed areas. During your overnight stay, expect to see and hear rangers patrolling public areas for bears. You may hear rangers yelling at and chasing bears. You may also see or hear rangers using a shotgun to shoot noisemakers or rubber projectiles at bears. The intent is not to harm the bear, but to scare it from the area and restore its natural fear of people by providing a negative experience.

NOTE: These regulations and precautions help decrease the chance of personal injury or property damage. However, bear damage and confrontations are still possible even when all of the above guidelines are followed. Failure to comply with these regulations may result in citation and/or impoundment of property."

Report all incidents and sightings to a ranger. If you have the presence of mind in all the excitement, try to notice if the bear has a tag.

Photographers - if an animal notices you, you're too close.

If animals get anything from you, NEVER try to get it back from them until they abandon it. Immediately clean up any scattered garbage or food.

Especially after dark, don't turn your back on food and don't leave a bear box in a campground open beyond the time it takes to get out what you need. If you arrive after dark, keep someone with the gear in the back of the pickup until you can unload and store it properly. At the very least, raccoons might be climbing into the back of the truck.

At bedtime, double check pants/jacket/day pack pockets for spare chocolate bars.

At bedtime, use a flashlight to check under the picnic table for lost potato chips and cooking items you forgot you set down on the ground during cooking. Below: a cook set down a container of pasta sauce under a picnic table bench on one of our winter trips and forgot about it. We found it with a quick flashlight sweep before we all moved to the campfire.

Since 2003 there has been a note in the Yosemite Guide: "REPORT ALL BEAR SIGHTINGS! To report bear sightings, improper food storage, trash problems, and other bear-related problems, leave a message for the Bear Management team at: (209) 372-0322. Your call can be made anonymously."

I put park press releases about bear damage statistics and a link to the possible answer to why black bears so often choose minivans at: Black Bear Management Trends

Bears hibernate all winter, so food storage isn't as important then, right?

WRONG. The bears don't truly hibernate all winter in mild winter places like Yosemite and the food storage rules are in effect all year.

We saw bear tracks in the snow in Yosemite on a January Ranger snowshoe walk, and one broke into a car (not one of ours) in Feb. 1999. (And there have been other breakins we might not personally have heard of).

Plus, the raccoons and coyotes are everywhere in the campground in winter, especially at night. Raccoons know how to unzip tent doors.

Mid-November 2004, with 17 inches of snow on the ground at Tuolumne, the rangers reported:

"Tracey stepped out of the ski hut and nearly hit a small Black Bear with the door one evening. We have been seeing this bruin's tracks for the last week visiting all the buildings, garbage cans and recycle cans in the Tuolumne and Tenaya area. Although there are no rewards habits die hard."

A good way to wake up the whole campground is to set your car alarm. Then if a curious animal or clumsy person bumps the vehicle at night you've succeeded. (A car alarm won't keep bears out of your vehicle).

Tent walls are thin. You can wake up everybody in the vicinity when you want to get into your car and you use the keyless (remote) door opener and the car makes the usual loud beep. People don't think to just use the key to open the door or don't know that if you look in the owner's manual you can find a way to disable the beep.

For a laugh, go to: Camping Blunders

For backpackers

There is a lot more at: Backpacking Advice, including thunderstorms, menu ideas and no-cook backpacking food, ways to keep down on weight and more.

From a Daily Report June, 2006:

"There is a bear frequenting the Mist trail. It has been observed with in a few feet of visitors! This is not o.k.! Please be sure to keep your food with arms reach when you sit down for lunch or look for a place to water the plants. Also, if a bear approaches you, make loud noises. Throw small sticks or stones towards the bear (aiming only for the rear of the bear and choosing smaller than quarter size stones). Always leave the bear an escape route. While this bear may seem tame, she is not. She is a wild animal with unpredictable behavior. Help save her life. Do not feed her and do not approach her."

From The Bear Facts (July 13 - July 19, 2003)

"Several bears continue to obtain food from backpackers in the Little Yosemite Valley area, including the Sunrise Creek and Moraine Dome area. One bear has learned to snatch backpacks containing food from unsuspecting hikers who have left their packs on the ground while pumping water or using the restroom. Another bear has learned to intimidate campers, snatching their open bear canisters if they show signs of backing down. It is important for backpackers and hikers to always be aware of their surroundings and to watch for sneaky bears."

From July, 2004 Yosemite daily report:

"Two yearlings are approaching visitors for food on the trail to Half Dome. No matter how small, bears can be dangerous. Bears have been obtaining food left at the Half Dome junction. If you drop your pack to go up the dome, please take all food with you or leave in a canister away from your pack."

Think you can outwit the bears by using some other method or other bear resistant container design than the approved containers? If you try and fail it could mean the bear will keep on trying to get human food and may have to be put to death. Zoos don't want them and when the park tries to relocate them the mostly come back to where they found easy human food sources, or die trying to.

Bears are very smart animals. The bear 'proof' garbage bins have been redesigned many times by the park service. Bears have been used in circuses around the world because of their brains and gymnastic abilities. In backpacking areas some have been known to keep up the circus tradition by climbing on limbs above a suspended food bag and leaping to snag it with their claws on the way to the ground. Rock climbers occasionally report that bears pulled up food bags they hung over sheer rock cliffs. Bears don't mind water and have swum out to a raft people thought they could hide food on.

At the top of the stairs at the beginning of the portage trail from Leigh Lake to String Lake in Grand Teton park there's a bear box (standard metal footlocker style) with a sign on it reminding people to put all their food in it while they carry their canoe/kayak down the trail instead of leaving food sitting out unprotected.

On a trip a few years back in Grand Teton the rangers were prohibiting picnics in one popular area because a mom bear was teaching her cub to bluff charge picnickers to scare them away from their food.

Below, a picture of a display in Grand Teton showing a fuel bottle with hole where a bear bit into it.

using a bear resistant food storage container has ideas for careful packing and use

(Some bear resistant food containers have been invented made of Kevlar, fabric and/or fabric aluminum have been invented, but are not allowed at many parks. Check in advance to see which brands of hard plastic models are okay where you go.)

Yosemite backpackers pages start at: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/backpacking.htm

Grand Teton backpackers pages start at: http://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/back.htm

Every once in awhile someone does a search online such as: recent sightings of grizzly bears in Yosemite, and gets to my site. So here is the answer: There have been no grizzly bears in Yosemite or California for many decades.

Yellowstone (black and grizzly) bear encounters info is at: http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/bearenc.htm

Why don't the rangers just move the problem bears?

Daily Report - Yosemite National Park

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

In the last month, we moved 4 yearlings to various locations outside of the Valley (but inside the park). They were moved in an effort to help them establish home ranges full of natural foods, rather than remain in Yosemite Valley where they are in close proximity to many sources of human food. So far these bears have not returned to the Valley, although they have traveled quite a bit. As a contrast, we moved an adult female this week that had already established her territory in the Valley. She returned in two days! This is why we rarely move adult bears-it's a lot of work and they come back almost faster than we do.

and:

"Approximately 80% of relocations of adults fail. The failure comes in many forms. Most bears just return and continue to seek out human food. Some bears wander outside of the park boundaries and cause problems in places that are not equipped the bear proof facilities we have in the park. When this happens, they are often destroyed by California Fish and Game. Also, bears can wander outside the park boundary and be hunted. Finally, the bear population in California is very healthy, so when you move a bear, it is likely there is already a bear in that area that knows the good food sources. The new bear is forced to compete for a limited food source in a place it's never been.

With yearling and subadult bears, there can be some success in moving (up to 40%), because they haven't established their home range as clearly as adults."

DEER

From the Yosemite Daily report of 10/20/03

"Memorandum To: All Employees, Yosemite National Park

From: Superintendent, Yosemite National Park

Subject: Visitors and Deer Hazards

The opportunity to observe wildlife at close range is a vacation highlight for many visitors to Yosemite. Unfortunately, some visitors carry this experience too far by getting dangerously close to the wildlife, which places both them and the animals at risk. This is especially true with the mule deer that frequent developed areas in Yosemite Valley. Visitors need to be made aware that even though the deer may appear " tame," they are wild animals that can inflict serious injuries. The only wildlife-related fatality in Yosemite's history occurred when a young boy was gored while feeding a mule deer buck.

The risk of similar incidents is especially high in the fall, because this is rutting season, when bucks become more aggressive as they compete for females. However, the danger also exists with does, which are also capable of injuring people with their hooves. The number of deer in developed areas also tends to increase in the fall, as they seek fallen acorns. This further increases the chance of human-deer conflicts. I'm sending you this message because we have had frequent deer sightings near the Park Administration building and in the Mall area. Visitors have also been approaching these animals too closely. If you notice visitors doing this, please stop and take a moment to courteously explain the dangers involved.

/s/Michael J. Tollefson"

Fawns

from Yosemite National Park, July 8

"It's fawning season! Over the next couple weeks, female deer will begin having fawns. It is normal in Yosemite Valley for deer to give birth in human populated areas, such as next to a building. The mother deer will closely guard a newborn during the first 10 days of its life, when the fawn remains mostly still. The mother will often leave the fawn bedded down in a safe location while she forages for food elsewhere. This is normal behavior, the fawn is not abandoned, and the mother will usually return after a short while.

If you see a fawn, please do not approach it, do not touch it, and do not pick it up!!! The mother may not be visible, but she is in the area. Please ask visitors to keep their distance, as a mother deer can become aggressive in protecting her young."

Find info about mule deer at:

http://www.nps.gov/wica/Mule%20Deer.htm

and

http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/showSpeciesSH.asp?curGroupID=5&shapeID=1033&curPageNum=8&recnum=MA0045

First-timer's instructions has instructions for beginning snow campers for the De Anza College Outdoor Club winter trip. Experienced people will probably pick up a few useful ideas.