Speed Kills Bears

Grab your bear can or camp chair, kick your feet up and chew the fat about anything Sierra Nevada related that doesn't quite fit in any of the other forums. Within reason, (and the HST rules and guidelines) this is also an anything goes forum. Tell stories, discuss wilderness issues, music, or whatever else the High Sierra stirs up in your mind.
User avatar
maverick
Forums Moderator
Forums Moderator
Posts: 11821
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 5:54 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer

Speed Kills Bears

Post by maverick »

Yosemite NP:
We get this call a lot. Too much, to be honest. “Bear hit by vehicle, dead on the side of the road.” Sadly, it’s become routine. I log the coordinates into my phone, gather the equipment I may need, and head to the location. This call came in cold; it sounds like the collision happened sometime around noon and it’s 4 pm now. The location is an hour’s drive away, so by the time I get there it’s well after 5 pm. I pull off on the shoulder, lug a large backpack of equipment over my back, and head off down the road. My job here is easy, really: find the bear, move its body far away from the road to prevent any other animals from getting hit while scavenging on it, fill out a report, and collect samples and measurements for research. Then I’m off on my way again with another number to add to the total of bears hit by vehicles this year—data we hope will help prevent future collisions. Pretty callous. However, the reality behind each of these numbers is not.

Per the coordinates I was given, I’m still a few hundred yards off, so I continue down the road scanning it for blood as cars whiz by. I try to remember how many times I’ve done this now and, truthfully, I don’t know. This is not what any of us signs up for, but it’s a part of the job nonetheless. Then something catches my eye. It’s small and artificial, and laying in the middle of the road. As I walk closer, I see that it’s a broken shapeless car part, likely from an undercarriage. More cars whiz past. I turn my gaze from the car part down the embankment on the side of the road and there it is.

A cub. Its tiny light brown body laying just feet from me and the road, nearly invisible to every passerby. It’s a new cub—couldn’t be much more than six months old, now balled up and lifeless under a small pine tree. For a moment I lose track of time as I stand there staring at its tiny body, but then the sound of more cars whizzing by reminds me of my place and my role. I let out a deep sigh and continue on with my task.

I pick up the cub—it couldn’t be much more than 25 pounds—and begin carrying it off into the woods. I have no certain destination; I’m just walking until I can no longer hear the hiss of the road behind me. I see a grassy spot surrounded by a semi-ring of down logs and gravitate towards it. The least I can do is find it a nice place to be laid. I lay it down in the grass protected by one of the nearby logs and sit back on the log opposite of it, slightly relieved that it looks far more in place now than when I found it earlier. I take another moment and then continue with my work.

I slide off my backpack, remove a binder, and start the assessment. It’s a female. This immediately triggers thoughts of the life this bear may have lived—perhaps she would have had cubs of her own—but before I finish that thought I hear a stick break and look up. Just beyond the ring, there’s a familiar figure intently staring back at me. It’s another bear. Surprised, I stand up quickly and the bear runs off into the brush but stops not far off and looks back at me. Acting on instinct, I pick up a stick and smash it over a tree to scare the bear further away. I stand there quietly, listening as I hear the bear’s footsteps tapper away.

A few silent minutes pass, and I settle back into my task. Timely coincidence, I think at first. It could be a bear coming to scavenge or this could be a common crossing area for whatever reason—we did have another bear hit and killed not far from here last week. But then I hear it, and it changes my mind completely. From behind me there’s a deep toned but soft sounding grunt. I immediately know what it is. It’s a vocalization, the kind sows (female bears) make to call to their cubs. I turn and look in its direction and there she is, the same bear from before intently staring back at me. It’s no coincidence. I can feel the callousness drain from my body. This bear is the mom, and she never left her cub.

My heart sinks. It’s been nearly six hours and she still hasn’t given up on her cub. I can just imagine how many times she darted back and forth on that road in attempts to wake it. It's extremely lucky that she wasn't hit as well. The calls to the cub continue, sounding more pained each time. I glance back finding myself hoping it would respond to her call too, but of course, nothing. Now here I am, standing between a grieving mother and her child. I feel like a monster.

I get up, quickly pack my bag, and get out of there. It is time to go even though my task is not done. Quickly, I set up a remote camera. Why? Every year we report the number of bears that get hit by vehicles, but numbers don’t always paint a picture. I want people to see what I saw: the sad reality behind each of these numbers.

So please, remember this. Remember that when traveling through Yosemite, we are all just visitors in the home of countless animals and it is up to us to follow the rules that protect them. Go the speed limit, drive alertly, and look out for wildlife. Protecting Yosemite’s black bears is something we can all do.
Learn more at http://keepbearswild.org/vehicle-bear-collisions/.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Professional Sierra Landscape Photographer

I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
User avatar
SSSdave
Topix Addict
Posts: 3523
Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2005 11:18 pm
Experience: N/A
Location: Silicon Valley
Contact:

Re: Speed Kills Bears

Post by SSSdave »

Thanks Mav for this important post. We see irresponsible impatient drivers speeding through the park at all hours of the day including those on the Valley loop road. Annoyingly many habitually will tailgate any others in front of them into higher speeds just like they do down on their urban highways.

I've said this before, the NPS needs to take off the kid's gloves and ticket inconsiderate drivers as pain is the only way many in this era will comply. The more other drivers see speeders ignored, the more likely they will also do so as if no one cares. Since they have been handing out park-pass-thru passes at entry kiosks and such drivers are more likely to speed, interested in a shorter faster route home versus Sonora Pass SR108, they ought to double fines for those caught with pass-thru's speeding.
User avatar
balzaccom
Topix Addict
Posts: 2952
Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2008 9:22 pm
Experience: N/A

Re: Speed Kills Bears

Post by balzaccom »

Really good post, Mav. A sad story indeed.
Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-R ... 0984884963
User avatar
c9h13no3
Topix Fanatic
Posts: 1323
Joined: Tue Sep 18, 2018 1:19 pm
Experience: Level 1 Hiker
Location: San Mateo, CA

Re: Speed Kills Bears

Post by c9h13no3 »

That’s a lot of words for road kill.
"Adventure is just bad planning." - Roald Amundsen
Also, I have a blog no one reads. Please do not click here.
User avatar
bobby49
Topix Fanatic
Posts: 1225
Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2017 4:17 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer

Re: Speed Kills Bears

Post by bobby49 »

It ruined my whole day to see the photo of the sow bear standing over the body of her cub.
User avatar
Harlen
Topix Addict
Posts: 2076
Joined: Sat Mar 11, 2017 9:13 am
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Santa Cruz Mountains

Re: Speed Kills Bears

Post by Harlen »

Too sad, and it will just keep happening when people don't give a shite.

C9:
That’s a lot of words for road kill.
Properly trained, a man can be dog’s best friend.
User avatar
Jimr
Forums Moderator
Forums Moderator
Posts: 2175
Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2009 2:14 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Torrance

Re: Speed Kills Bears

Post by Jimr »

Harlen wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:18 am Too sad, and it will just keep happening when people don't give a shite.

C9:
That’s a lot of words for road kill.
A blunt statement about the message does not imply the position of the recipient on the subject itself.
If you don't know where you're going, then any path will get you there.
User avatar
Harlen
Topix Addict
Posts: 2076
Joined: Sat Mar 11, 2017 9:13 am
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Santa Cruz Mountains

Re: Speed Kills Bears

Post by Harlen »

Heat of the moment-- Mea Culpa.
Properly trained, a man can be dog’s best friend.
User avatar
c9h13no3
Topix Fanatic
Posts: 1323
Joined: Tue Sep 18, 2018 1:19 pm
Experience: Level 1 Hiker
Location: San Mateo, CA

Re: Speed Kills Bears

Post by c9h13no3 »

Harlen wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:18 am Too sad
Is it? Bears are a species of "least concern" according the IUCN. Do you write a sob story for deer or skunks or squirrels that are hit on the road? Speeding kills humans too, likely far more than bears.

Sure, I don't want to hit a bear with my car. But I'm not shedding any tears here. The RV's on 120 do more to control the speed of drivers than those signs do.
"Adventure is just bad planning." - Roald Amundsen
Also, I have a blog no one reads. Please do not click here.
User avatar
bobby49
Topix Fanatic
Posts: 1225
Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2017 4:17 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer

Re: Speed Kills Bears

Post by bobby49 »

A black bear mother with cub have a lot of charisma.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 54 guests