Yogi Bear would be proud - Smart Black Bear defeats Bearvault

[RamboLiberal]

NORTH ELBA, N.Y. — It was built to be impenetrable, from its “super rugged transparent polycarbonate housing” to its intricate double-tabbed lid that would keep campers’ food in and bears’ paws out.

The BearVault 500 withstood the ravages of the test bears at the Folsom City Zoo in California. It has stymied mighty grizzlies weighing up to 1,000 pounds in the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park.

But in one corner of the Adirondacks, campers started to notice that the BearVault, a popular canister designed to keep food and other necessities safe, was being compromised. First through circumstantial evidence, then from witness reports, it became clear that in most cases, the conqueror was a relatively tiny, extremely shy middle-aged black bear named Yellow-Yellow.

Some canisters fail in the testing stage when large bears are able to rip off the lid. But wildlife officials say that Yellow-Yellow, a 125-pound bear named for two yellow ear tags that help wildlife officials keep tabs on her, has managed to systematically decipher a complex locking system that confounds even some campers.

In the process, she has emerged as a near-mythical creature in the High Peaks region of the northeastern Adirondacks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/nyregion/25bear.html?_r=2&hp=&pagewanted=all

[joeybee12]

1. So, bears are capable of learning and adapting...

...three cheers for bears!

[provis99]

2. I guess Colbert should cover this on Threatdown

...and the No.1 threat: Smart bears named Yellow-yellow!

[Broken_Hero]

3. This reminds me of a neighbor I had back home

One day (sometime in early 98) this neighbor lady griped me and a buddy of mine about how we keep our trash cans open and out in plain sight/easy access for bears to get into. She berated us for 15 minutes, and tried forcing us to spend $ to get a proper cage/box to put in trash cans in, so that bears couldn't get into our trash.

My buddy and I basically ignored her, and kept on trucking. Roughly two weeks later as I'm walking down our steps to head to work, I hear our neighbor lady yelling/griping at someone. I walk by and I see she is pickin g up trash and destroyed bits/pieces of the cage/box she bought to protect her cans from bears off the ground.

As I stroll by I ask, "So, it didn't stop the bears did it?" She stated "%^$# No it didn't!" I smiled and kept on trucking. Moral of the story, if a bears wants to get into it, it will...and a side note, bears never got into our trash, I guess they don't like the smell/taste of stale beer, and empty totino's boxes...:D

[Lisa0825]

8. TOTINO'S RULZ!!!

LOL! That is totally childhood comfort food to me! Every now and then, I have to have one!

[MADem]

4. That's kinda neat--was the vault full of pick-a-nick baskets? nt

[SpiralHawk]

5. Smarter than the average bear

[KittyWampus]

6. Ohhhh! LISTEN. My father was with a group in Shark Valley, FL and the guide said at a stopping point

"bring your food bags with you, the crows can open anything". With that, a flock of bicyclists came up, dismounted and left their bikes to go on a trail. Within seconds as the bikers were out of sight, crows descended on the bikes and undid the buckles etc on the bike packs to get the food! :)

[Sal Minella]

7. Crows are smart, and they laugh at us while they outsmart us!!!

I had a pet crow who would steal people's car keys and drop them into a rain gutter en passant.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

13. have you gotten the email showing birds stealing coins from a car wash?

I think 3 or 4 thousand dollars was found on the roof of the car wash, and a lot of coins under a nearby tree.

[Sal Minella]

15. Haven't seen that, but can easily imagine -- they love tormenting people

and stealing shiny things.

My pet crow would land on top of my mother's head just to hear her scream. He didn't bother to land on anybody else's head because nobody else screamed.

He liked riding the cars on Main Street. He'd land on somebody's hood and ride
to the edge of town and catch a ride on a car going the other way. He seemed to enjoy the attention.

[formercia]

9. I watched the crows do it.

At Shark Valley. It was amazing to watch them work the latches and strap buckles. They knew exactly what they were doing. They were fast too.

[trotsky]

10. Foraging and scavenging need intelligence.

Early humans did a lot of scavenging. It requires keen observation and memory, as well as the ability to avoid detection by the true provider of the meal.

[Bigmack]

12. Ravens make crows look positively stupid! nt

[CatWoman]

11. hah!! we all know cats are smarter

:)

[RubyDuby in GA]

14. I think it is awesome that they are designing a totally new version just for one bear

Go Yellow-Yellow!