A black bear in Yosemite can put away as much as 20,000 calories a day in autumn, and this year more of those calories are coming out of coolers, tents and food lockers that never got latched.
Clashes between bears and people in the park are up 52 percent, a jump arriving just as the animals shift into their fall feeding push. Yosemite counts an incident any time a bear causes a monetary loss, whether that means a damaged car or a stolen dinner.
By the Fourth of July, the last time the National Park Service posted a public tally, rangers had logged 34 incidents, already 26 percent ahead of the same point in 2025. Campgrounds accounted for 19 of them, with the rest spread across wilderness, residential areas and other corners of the park. Six bears had been struck by vehicles.
Bears spent the summer pulling food from lockers left open or improperly latched in Yosemite Valley campgrounds and lodging areas, including one that ate a birthday cake at Curry Village. A sow and her two cubs cleaned out a tent pitched at an illegal campsite in Cook’s Meadow. Rangers say nearly all of it could have been prevented.
The long view is still encouraging, with incidents down 91 percent from the 1998 peak. The park’s 300 to 500 black bears are now chasing acorns ahead of winter, though, and a bear that learns to eat human food tends to live a shorter, less wild life. Food storage violations can bring fines of up to $5,000, and sightings can be reported at 209-372-0322. Latching the locker costs nothing.
This article was originally published by ActiveNorCal
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