The coexistence of bears and nature-loving travelers can be problematic, especially when savory foods and sticky-fingered children are involved. It's widely known that black bears raid trash cans, break into cars and homes, and swipe food from unwitting campers. Less apparent are the drivers behind the burly burglars' selective foraging decisions; that is, until now. The objective of a recent study was to uncover the foraging proclivities of black bears in Yosemite National Park, Calif. Among other findings, the study revealed that these bears have quite a penchant for raiding minivans, above all other autos.

The findings appeared in "Selective Foraging for Anthropogenic Resources By Black Bears: Minivans in Yosemite National Park," published in the October issue of the Journal of Mammalogy. Researchers gathered information about 908 vehicle break-ins perpetrated by stealthy bears in Yosemite National Park between 2001 and 2007, taking into account the make and model of each automobile, along with factors such as whether food was found in the vehicle, the severity of food violation, and if food odors were present. Vehicles were classified as coupe, minivan, pickup truck, sedan, small car, sports car, SUV, station wagon, or van.

Data indicated that minivans were the bears' first or second preference every year, comprising 26 percent of all reported incidents. That's despite the fact that they make up only 7 percent of the vehicles parked in Yosemite Valley. When researchers compared the number of vehicles available to the number torn open by bears, four times more minivans were broken into than would be expected if they were randomly selected. Close to 40 percent of all violated automobiles contained food, according to the study's coauthors Stewart W. Breck, Nathan Lance, and Victoria Sheer. Of the nine different vehicle types, the bears selected SUVs second, trashing them 22.5 percent of the time. SUVs account for 22 percent of the cars parked in the valley.

"There are several non-mutually exclusive hypotheses for why bears selected minivans," Breck said. Chiefly among them is the possibility that minivans are more likely to "emit food odors regardless of whether they contained meaningful amounts of food." This is based on the rationale that minivans are designed for families with children, who are "notorious for spilling food and drink while riding." Another theory is that minivans may be structurally easier to penetrate than other types of vehicles. The researchers observed that bears entering minivans typically did so with ease, popping open a rear side window with their long claws.

The claim ramifications are not entirely clear, although park staff tout various education efforts that would reduce the incidence of break-ins and, by extension, claims arising from related damages.

Special Reports /

Yosemite Black Bears Maraud Minivans

Related Stories

Recommended For You