Creek Running North 大自然 Smarter than the average bayarean

September 20, 2006

Smarter than the average bayarean

I just love this.

Back in the 1980s, Yosemite National Park was having a serious problem with bears: They would wander into campgrounds and break into the garbage bins. This put both bears and people at risk. So the Park Service started installing armored garbage cans that were tricky to open—you had to swing a latch, align two bits of handle, that sort of thing. But it turns out it’s actually quite tricky to get the design of these cans just right. Make it too complex and people can’t get them open to put away their garbage in the first place. Said one park ranger, “There is considerable overlap between the intelligence of the smartest bears and the dumbest tourists.”

Via Danny.

Posted by: Chris Clarke

Categories:
Wildlife

Send to Del.icio.us; Digg; Ma.gnolia; Reddit; Spurl; Newsvine; StumbleUpon

Comments are closed

I'm sorry, but the comment period for this entry has ended.

Plus the difference in the power of the motivation. Motivation for the bear, Free Food. Motivation for the tourist, tidy up.

1
By: zhoen
on September 20, 2006
at 09:00 AM

File this under, “Additional Evidence To Support Things We Already Knew.”

2
By: Charles
on September 20, 2006
at 10:22 AM

I was half expecting it to have a mention of pic-a-nic baskets.

3
By: craig
on September 20, 2006
at 03:09 PM

I really appreciated the effort the NPS put into those bearproof containers. Not just the trash cans, but the backcountry protection systems: heavy PVC tubes with recessed screw lids, large steel boxes w/ those quite fancy locking mechanisms, and so forth. It made for quieter nights, less bear activity, and a certain peace of mind. Unfortunately too many people, not that they would know any better since they never ever read any of the signs or material given to them when they enter the park, store food in plain sight in their cars and trucks. The old adage: bears don’t need can-openers, they don’t read labels, so they rip everything open.

And if anyone wants to hear some amazing funny stories, just stop a ranger in the Valley sometime during off season ask for some stupid camper bear stories. Some of the things people have thought they could do with a bear just blows you away for their sheer incapacity to exhibit any common sense.

4
By: spyder
on September 20, 2006
at 08:20 PM

“Some of the things people have thought they could do with a bear...”

Seems to me that thinking you could do ANYTHING with a bear is pretty stupid.

If you should meet a bear, you don’t get to do anything with him. He might get to do something with you, though.

5
By: craig
on September 20, 2006
at 11:25 PM

“If you meet the Bear on the road, kill him.”

6
By: Ron Sullivan
on September 21, 2006
at 01:42 AM

Ogden Nash, excerpted:

Adventures Of Isabel

Isabel met an enormous bear,
Isabel, Isabel, didn’t care;
The bear was hungry, the bear was ravenous,
The bear’s big mouth was cruel and cavernous.
The bear said, Isabel, glad to meet you,
How do, Isabel, now I’ll eat you!
Isabel, Isabel, didn’t worry.
Isabel didn’t scream or scurry.
She washed her hands and she straightened her hair up,
Then Isabel quietly ate the bear up.

See also: Travels with Farley - Fur and Loafing in Yosemite and Eat, Drink & Be Hairy - The Travels & Travails of Yosemite’s Bears & Their Peculiar Pals by Phil Frank

7
By: Fred Levitan
on September 21, 2006
at 12:47 PM