Yosemite National Park Red Bear, Dead Bear Sign
These signs in the park are where bears have been hit by vehicles.
2020 Total Bear Incidents: 17
2020 Total Property Damage: $2,778
August 24, 2020 - Compared to 2019 (the lowest year on record for number of bear incidents), bear incidents are down by 5.6% and property damage is up by 127.7%. Compared to 1998 (when incidents in the park peaked), bear incidents are down by 98.5%, and property damage is down by 99.4%.
Bear Activity Summary: Bears incidents slowed this week, with only one incident occurring in the wilderness at Snow Creek. There were three bear incidents the previous week including a bear ripping shingles from the side of a house in order to get at a wasp nest, a bear eating sandwiches that were left unattended near the Ahwahnee Hotel, and a bear that got into a backpack along the Panorama Trail while the owners were too far away. Remember that proper food storage in Yosemite includes being within arms’s reach when your food is not otherwise stored legally (this generally means in a bear-resistant food storage locker or container, or in a closed up vehicle if it’s daytime).
Food sources are transitioning, and so are bears. Many bears headed to higher elevations in recent weeks in search of food now that the Valley’s mid-summer abundance of fruit has come to a seasonal end. As autumn nears, bears will increase the amount of food they eat each day in preparation for hibernation. This additional natural drive to eat can make them particularly sneaky or bold at getting food from people this time of year.
Red Bear, Dead Bear: Please help protect wildlife by obeying speed limits and being prepared to stop for animals in roadways. At least ten bears have been hit by vehicles this year in Yosemite, and at least four of those died.
Fascinating Bear Facts: In the fall, bears eat up to 20,000 calories a day—that’s 10 times the amount of food an average person eats in a day.
For more information visit KeepBearsWild.org
Please report bear incidents and sightings: Call the Save-A-Bear Hotline at 209-372-0322 or e-mail yose_bear_mgmt@nps.gov.
Source: C. Lee-Roney/NPS
