A Rant: Stupid Human Tricks

This summer in the Sierra, we've seen more bears, and they've become an increasing nuisance.  While some of this is no doubt due to the dry year, meaning less stuff for them to forage, a large (larger?) part of it is thanks to careless human behavior.   In Mammoth this has reached new heights.  N told me about an article in the free newspaper, The Sheet, about how bears are getting into the so-called bear proof dumpsters.  In some cases it’s because someone forgot to secure the latch, but in others, apparently, tourists, eager to ‘see’ a bear, deliberately leave their condo dumpster open.  For the fun of it. “Look honey, a bear! We can send our video to America’s Funniest Videos and earn our fortune!”

What these retards don’t realize is that they’re training the bears to see Mammoth as their personal feeding grounds.  And it’s a difficult habit to break, as rangers in Yosemite have learned (There’s a great article on the wily Yosemite bears in the latest issue of Backpacker).  So while the stupid Los Angelenos can take their photos, pack up the Hummer and split, the locals will be the ones dealing with the repercussions of trash-hunting bears.