Yosemite Bear Research ...

“...Park Bruins Going "Back to Nature"?

Thu, Oct 18, 2001

Two years into a four-year study, data suggest that bears are spending less time than before in developed areas of Yosemite Valley.

Researchers in Yosemite National Park are wrapping up their second season studying bear ecology and visitor behavior with respect to the park's bear management program.

Biologists are researching the types of habitat used, daily activity patterns, and food habits of bears in Yosemite Valley.

Sociologists are studying how public education about storing food from bears affects the visitor's participation in keeping Yosemite bears wild.

This four-year research project is made possible by a grant from the Yosemite Fund.

This year, bears spent less time in the developed areas of Yosemite Valley. Bears mainly came to the Valley to get water from the Merced River and to forage for natural foods.
Bears did continue to investigate developed areas but did not regularly obtain human food from them.

Bear scat was collected throughout the Valley and analyzed to determine what types of food bears were eating.
"Trashy" scats were rare, and most contained natural-food remains like berries and vegetation.

The park has between 350 and 500 bears throughout its 1,200 square miles.
About a dozen bears permanently reside in Yosemite Valley, but many others pass through the area or take up residence for brief periods of time.

Last year, biologists performed 455 "hazing" actions to scare bears out of Yosemite Valley's developed areas.
Hazing, a harmless form of negative conditioning, had to be conducted only three times this year.

The change in bear behavior is attributed to the efforts of park staff, park partners, and visitors in minimizing food and trash sources available to bears.

The park launched an expansive public-awareness campaign in 1998 to educate visitors about food storage and to reduce the availability of human food.
That campaign is working.

Visitors read park information about bears and then store their food in bearproof containers.

This is the third consecutive year that bear incidents and property damage have decreased.

So far this year, there have been 204 bear incidents, which resulted in $29,197 in property damage.
This is an 87% decrease in bear incidents and a 96% decrease in property damage since 1998.

The decrease of bear incidents in campgrounds and parking lots did not occur in wilderness areas, where incidents continued to be frequently reported.

The only way to reduce bear incidents in wilderness areas is through bear-canister use.
Backpackers are strongly encouraged to use bear canisters while on wilderness trips below 9,600 feet.
Bear canisters are required for overnight trips above 9,600 feet.
Canisters protect personal property, food, and the bears.

BAH!”