Yosemite Bear Facts - August 26 to September 1, 2018

2017 Total Bear Incidents: 9
2017 Total Property Damage: $622

Compared to this same week 2017 (the lowest year on record for bear incidents), bear incidents in 2018 are down by 71% and damage amounts (in dollars) are down by 86.9%. Compared to 1998 (when incidents in the park peaked), bear incidents in 2018 are down by 99.3%, and damages are down by 99.9%.

Bear Activity Summary: There have been no bear incidents in the past two weeks. The most recent bear incident involved food that was left in backpacks in the back of a pickup truck in Yosemite Valley during the day. A sow with two cubs got the food from the vehicle. This was the first human food that these cubs obtained in their life and this incident is a perfect example of why proper food storage (both day and night) is so important. Once bears learn to associate human areas, vehicles, or people with food, they tend to continue searching those areas for food. Bears can quickly become food conditioned and/or habituated to human presence. When this happens bears can become bold, or even aggressive in their search for food. Cubs that are in contact with human food, or that become used to being around people often continue this behavior throughout their lifetime.

Bear activity in the past two weeks has shifted away form Yosemite Valley, and into higher and lower elevations. As fruit and other summer foods dwindle in the Valley, bears head to other areas to find new food sources. Often this is the time of year that bear activity picks up in El Portal, and other areas outside the Valley. Though many bears have left the Valley, some do still remain. Proper food storage throughout the park is crucial at this time of year when bears are starting to eat more to build fat stores for hibernation.

Red Bear, Dead Bear: So far this year, nine bears have been hit by vehicles along park roads. Please help protect wildlife by obeying speed limits and being prepared to stop for animals in roadways.

Fascinating Bear Fact: Bears eat up to 20,000 calories each day in the fall to prepare for hibernation!

Please report bear incidents and sightings: Call the Save-A-Bear Hotline at 209-372-0322 or e-mail yose_bear_mgmt@nps.gov. For more information about Yosemite’s Bears, please visit http://www.Keepbearswild.org

Other Wildlife Sightings: Mountain lions have been reported across Yosemite National 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.