Yosemite Bear Facts June 12–June 25

Bear Activity Summary: Bears emerged from their dens in March this year and have been active throughout the park ever since. Recent observations have included bears grazing in roadside meadows and along hiking trails.

Bear incidents this week have centered on Backpackers. Two incidents occurred in the Yosemite Valley Backpacker’s Campground when bears got food left unattended in campsites. One additional incident occurred at the Cloud’s Rest Junction on the JMT near the Half Dome trail. Visitors left food in an unlatched food storage container and a bear was able to grab it. Bears can quietly enter campsites anytime - day or night. When camping, food and scented items must be stored in latched bear resistant food storage containers or in a food storage locker. If you are preparing food, it is necessary to keep food within arm’s reach.

Please report bear sightings to the Save-A-Bear Hotline at 209-372-0322.

Red Bear, Dead Bear: So far this year, 7 bears have been hit by vehicles. Of these, three were killed including two cubs. One of these cubs was hit and killed this week on the Big Oak Flat Road near Foresta. Please protect wildlife by obeying speed limits and paying attention while driving.

Interesting Bear Fact: Cubs are only 0.5-0.75 pounds when born and only about 8 inches long.

Other Wildlife Sightings: Several mountain lions have been reported throughout the park. For more information on mountain lions in Yosemite National Park, please visit the National Park Service website, http://www.nps.gov/yose/naturescience/mountainlion.htm.

If the topic of dead Yosemite bears wasn't so tragic it would be boring. year after year after year its the same story. what's the point of responsible visitors not feeding bears if there are more deaths among road bears than rogue bears? what's the solution? well, why not begin crudely, introducing low (20 mph) limits in the Valley; introduce speed humps and perhaps a rumble strip or two. as a driver, would you sooner brake suddenly to watch a roadside bear at 20 or 40 mph? then while this basic experiment is given a whirl, how about contacting someone in a responsible position in Yosemite valley who has the b***s to get in touch with Bill Gates and ask if one of his boffins can come up with an idea on how to stop the carnage. As bears are already tagged (don't know what %) and can be located 24/7 by Park employees, given the advanced state of modern electronics it can't be too much of a leap to transmit their position (when they approach a roadway) via some sort of comms to a combination of light/warning sound atop a series of posts along the roadside. even at 100 yard interval offset on either side, it would take a hell of a lot of poles. But which is better, ugly poles or dead bears? given the mileage of roads involved, any organised method could cost a fortune, and some bright spark somewhere will question the cost effectiveness: and rightly so. but how much money does Yosemite generate each year?? More than a shedload, I'm guessing.
if the costs prove too much to bear (no pun intended) perhaps old Bill wouldn't mind a mountain being named after him, after all, there are more than enough in the place. failing that, perhaps he could be persuaded by the offer of the USA's highest public award (whatever that may be). but one thing is certain, if no one is capable of bringing bear deaths- in the Valley at least- to zero, then we may all as well go and play penny whistles in the kalamazoo symphony orchestra.