Bears and food question

hoyden

Lady Bug
Joined
Aug 16, 2015
Messages
1,462
Location
Carbondale, IL
Figured this is as good a place as any to ask:
I was driving to work this morning and thinking about how to bring along more dog food. I figured I'd put it in my truck cab. Then I got wondering if bears would break into a parked truck for food?
 
You are asking for trouble. A bear will smell the food no matter how it is packed. If said bear then wants your dog food, it will proceed to rip the doors off of your vehicle and have lunch.

cwd
 
cwd - seriously? lotsa people camp in bear country in our pop-ups... will bears attack a truck camper?
I'll hafta see what bear country I might be traveling through.
I do have bear spray in the camper, but hope to never have to use it.
 
Bears are 10 times more intelligent than a dog. In areas where bears are habituated (by repeated success) to go after human food sources remarkable facts come out. The window in that vehicle did not have a frame around it (years ago around here Hondas were called bear magnets) and the bear has figured out all it needs to do is get its claws inside the top edge and pull. Buy a vehicle with a full frame around the glass and roll the window up tight. And keep everything out of sight, just like you do with not leaving purses, wallets, cameras visible.

Before leaving your vehicle, take a look around. You will learn a lot. I've seen people park, hop out, and walk away from their vehicle with food stuff in plain view and not see the vehicle broken into right beside them.

Most times we are safe. Just don't ask to be the victim.

For full disclosure I should add I watched a small bear open a Toyota pickup with a full frame, pulled the window and frame horizontal with the ground and then climbed up and sat on the window and frame and emptied the cooler on the passenger seat.

This is why we should all be outraged when we see people not reading the signs and following the precautions. A fed bear is a dead bear.
 
GroovyDad - Yikes! I watched the next video too and what it looks like is the cars that were targeted had their windows open a few inches. The bear first smelled through that open window. In the second vid the bear walked around the car a few times, testing doors to see what was loose. The lowered window was the in.
 
Most times I have been in areas with problem bears there are bear boxes in the campgrounds you can use. Even the sight of a water bottle can get them thinking there's food to be had. I camp in black bear country a lot and grizzly country some and a key is a clean campsite. If you come up to a place with trash in the fire ring or around the site, move on.
 
A bear's sense of smell is 7 times greater than a bloodhound and they are at least 6 times stronger than a man. If a bear wants into your camper, he/she WILL get into your camper by opening it up like a pan of Jiffy Pop popcorn. Unlikely....yes. Impossible....no. Cut the odds by being bear smart.

Just say'n
cwd
 
Same is true if a bear wants in your house - it will get in. Bears will also break into vehicles that have no food in them. The only surefire solution is to avoid bear country, which is most of the US. :giggle:
 
Use bear containers when they are available, keep a clean camp, keep food covered and out of sight. Our dry dog food is in a closed 2 gal. container and stored out of site under the dog platform. Have bear spray.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Wander The West mobile app
 
Having lived in black bear and griz country most of my life, what everyone else has said is true. If a bear wants in, they will get in unless you are using a steel conex container - which is what many outfitters are now using at regular trailheads they operate out of to store horse feed. Vehicles are easy - best bet is too keep food out of sight and not leave any food in the vehicle for an extended period of time (like if you are on a multi-day hike). The rest is up to luck.
 
Taku said:
Vehicles are easy - best bet is too keep food out of sight and not leave any food in the vehicle for an extended period of time (like if you are on a multi-day hike). The rest is up to luck.
And for safety, NEVER keep foodstuffs in your camper!!!
 
Never keep foodstuffs in my camper?
I have food storage in there! Cupboards with dry goods. Fridge with wet goods.

eh?
 
I camp in bear country all the time and keep food in my camper. If you follow food storage guidelines for the area and keep a clean camp you are more likely to have an accident on the road getting to camp than you are to have a bear incident in camp.

If you really want to avoid bears in WY and MT go in Dec or Jan when they are hibernating. ;)
 
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