Re: Bears in winter?

Have never been to Yose in the winter months. Given the fact there are still peoplel in the valley with potential food sources, do bears and other wildlife continue to hang around Curry and the valley environs during winter... I know the bears should be sleeping, but with the warm winter, and food probably available, was wondering if that changes Mother Natures plans.

Bears can still be a problem, or I really should state it more accurately: People can still be a problem in winter months by leaving food in their vehicles and other locations that are easily accessible for bears. Fortunately for these problem people, the number of bears that are active in winter in Yosemite Valley is a lot smaller than the number of active bears in the other three seasons of the year.

Generally speaking, there aren't a whole lot of bears active in the winter in Yosemite Valley at any given point of time. But some still are, so precautions in regards to food storage should still be adhered to even during the winter months.

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Especially this "Winter" where the conditions are mild and the travel is easy due to infrequent snow. Black bears do not engage in the formal hibernation patterns of the smaller mammals. I was camping in the valley a few winters ago -- after a blizzard -- and everyone had gathered around the meadow near the Yosemite Lodge to photograph two bears devour a fresh kill (no, not a picnic basket, but an actual traditional bear kill of deer)

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The body betrays and the weather conspires, hopefully, not on the same day.

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Bee
Especially this "Winter" where the conditions are mild and the travel is easy due to infrequent snow. Black bears do not engage in the formal hibernation patterns of the smaller mammals. I was camping in the valley a few winters ago -- after a blizzard -- and everyone had gathered around the meadow near the Yosemite Lodge to photograph two bears devour a fresh kill (no, not a picnic basket, but an actual traditional bear kill of deer)

Wow,. that's quite a story! Did they actually see it kill the deer, or was it eating one that was already dead?

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hotrod4x5

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Bee
Especially this "Winter" where the conditions are mild and the travel is easy due to infrequent snow. Black bears do not engage in the formal hibernation patterns of the smaller mammals. I was camping in the valley a few winters ago -- after a blizzard -- and everyone had gathered around the meadow near the Yosemite Lodge to photograph two bears devour a fresh kill (no, not a picnic basket, but an actual traditional bear kill of deer)

Wow,. that's quite a story! Did they actually see it kill the deer, or was it eating one that was already dead?

The whole action was witnessed -- from the kill to the devour. I missed it by about an hour!

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The body betrays and the weather conspires, hopefully, not on the same day.

It may be January on the calendar, but its tough to call this "winter".

We have also seen bears in the winter in Yosemite. The amount of time that bears hibernate varies due to winter time temperatures in the area where they live. Bears in warmer climates do not hibernate as long and will wake up if there is a warm spell during the winter. A bear in Minnesota where it is colder and tends to stay cold throughout the winter, will hibernate longer and most likely will not wake up until spring. Winter temperatures in Yosemite Valley are relatively mild with periods of warm weather so bears there can become active during the winter. I grew up in Pennsylvania and you never heard of anyone seeing a bear during the winter but the winter temperatures are much colder than in Yosemite Valley. Interesting fact: females give birth in January and will wake up during labor and then periodically to clean up the cubs. However once they are back to "sleep" it is hard to wake them up. There was an incidence where some wildlife biologist removed a cub from a den to measure and weigh it and despite it's bawling, the mother never woke up. Of course, I would never recommend anyone trying to drag a bear out of it's den when it is hibernating.