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jstan
climber
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 14, 2009 - 06:58pm PT
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The foraging critters in Yosemite seem to have made minivans their first or second choice to break into when searching for food, according to a recent study.
It's official. Those discerning car critics, the black bears of Yosemite, have voted the minivan their most sought-after vehicle.
Not to drive, of course, just to break into.
Year after year, foraging bears have made minivans their first or second choice among tens of thousands of SUVs, sedans, sports cars and other vehicles in Yosemite National Park.
At least that's the conclusion of an article in this month's issue of the Journal of Mammalogy, which details a study of 908 bear-on-vehicle break-ins from 2001 to 2007.
Bears searching for the most calories (who knows when they'll eat again?) at the least risk (in this case, harassment by park rangers) judged minivans the best source, according to the study.
The minivan earned this dubious distinction for a variety of reasons, but the primary one was this: Minivans reek of food.
Study authors surmise that the minivans are more aromatic than other cars because they are designed for families with children, "and small children in particular are notorious for spilling food and drink while riding in vehicles."
Researchers also suggest that minivan passengers are more prone to leave coolers and bags of food in their cars. The exposed snacks are an invitation to vandalism, because the bears have learned to open the rear side window of a minivan like the pop-top on a soda can.
The report also raises the possibility that the break-ins are the work of just a few recidivist bears; once they realized what a find the minivans were, they targeted them specifically.
Moral of the study: If you're going to Yosemite, store your food in a food locker -- but first get the minivan washed.
carla.hall@latimes.com
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Brian Hench
Trad climber
Anaheim, CA
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Oct 14, 2009 - 07:10pm PT
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I saw that! Just my luck! I am sure that, to a bear, my Honda Element is just another minivan.
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Scared Silly
Trad climber
UT
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Oct 14, 2009 - 07:21pm PT
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The bears in Yosemite are smarter than most Yosemite tourists.
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
Idaho, also. Sorta, kinda mostly, Yeah.
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Oct 14, 2009 - 09:43pm PT
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Yeah, they check out minivans like we look in the fridge.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Oct 15, 2009 - 12:01pm PT
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wack-N-dangle
Gym climber
the ground up
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Oct 24, 2009 - 12:31pm PT
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At one time I head that it was VW bugs. A bear (or bears) learned that you could jump on the roof, it would cave, and the doors would pop open. Any truth to the story?
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| Messages 1 - 8 of total 8 in this topic |
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