Friday, May 4th, 2007...9:04 am
Bear Warnings for Mammoth and Yosemite
The California State Department of Fish and Game is advising campers, hikers, hunters, fishermen and golfers to take extra precautions and keep alert for bears while in the Yosemite and Mammoth areas.
People are advised to wear noise-producing devices such as little bells on their clothing to alert, but not startle, bears unexpectedly. The department also advises carrying pepper pray in case of a encounter with a bear.
It is also a good idea to watch for fresh signs of bear activity and know the difference between black bear and grizzly bear droppings.
Black bear droppings are smaller and contain berries and possibly
squirrel fur.
Grizzly bear droppings have little bells in them and smell like
pepper spray.
Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack. Smile
2 Comments
May 28th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Uh, where did you get this from? This certainly isn’t the advice you’ll get from any of the Rangers in those areas. And there haven’t been any Grizzlies in CA for almost 100 years (apart from the rather ironical ones on the state flag).
The F&G advice sounds like excessive caution, given the extreme rarity of any bear-related injuries the total lack of fatalities due to bears in those areas (the only wildlife-caused death in Yosemite was inflicted by a Mule Deer).
Or is this whole piece just a gag?
May 29th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Peter,
As you indeed suspect, this is a gag. Can recall where I saw it, but just thought I would add a bit of levity to the site. You’ll notice that at the end of the post I write “smile.” That’s the tip off.
Bruce
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