Black bears (Ursus americanus) forage selectively in natural environments. To determine if bears also forage selectively for anthropogenic resources we analyzed data on vehicles broken into by bears from Yosemite National Park, California. We classified vehicles into 9 categories based on their make and model and collected data on use (2001–2007) and availability (2004–2005). From 2001 to 2007 bears broke into 908 vehicles at the following rates: minivan (26.0%), sport–utility vehicle (22.5%), small car (17.1%), sedan (13.7%), truck (11.9%), van (4.2%), sports car (1.7%), coupe (1.7%), and station wagon (1.4%). Only use of minivans (29%) during 2004–2005 was significantly higher than expected (7%). We discuss several competing hypotheses about why bears selected minivans.
Monday, October 11, 2010
It Must Be the Cupholders
From Barking up the Wrong Tree, the question, "What kind of car is most likely to get broken into by a hungry bear?":
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Obviously to bears it's minivans that are the most sexy. What vehicle is more bear shaped, after all? You may be a person or you may be a bear, but a midlife crisis is a midlife crisis, and we all select a car for the same reason.
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