And a smart mama bear means smart cubs. First, there's still a lot of snow in the mountains, so bears are moving to lower elevations for food. Second, bears of years past have taught their offspring it's easier to forage in human camps than in the back country. From May 31-June 6, bears broke into seven vehicles in Yosemite parking lots and were involved in six incidents in campgrounds. Crapsey says while campgrounds have the highest number of incidents, the dollar damage in parking lots is greater because cars are affected.
Bears stick a claw between the door and top of the car, and simply peel the door down.
They crawl in and tear up the seats looking for food and they tear through the back seat to get to the trunk. Because bears associate cars with food, some break into any car, whether there's food inside or not. They climb trees, bounce on branches, chew on branches and send their little guys out on branches to get the food. Such bears can look cute, but they also can become aggressive. That's what happened to the female bear who nipped a Visalia woman at a Sequoia National Park picnic area last year.