Super Genius Bear Thwarts BearVault 500 Canister
If you plan on going camping in the bear-infested badlands known as the Adirondacks (note: any place with a bear is infested with bears as far as I'm concerned), don't bother packing your food in the supposedly bear-proof BearVault 500. Although it's been rigorously tested by grizzlies at a California zoo and at Yellowstone National Park, there's apparently an unnaturally smart—perhaps even octopus-smart—125-pound black bear in upstate New York who has figured out how to open it.
"She's quite talented," said Jamie Hogan, owner of BearVault, based in San Diego. "I'm an engineer, and if one genius bear can do it, sooner or later there might be two genius bears. We're trying to work on a new design that we can hopefully test on her."
His company and New York's Department of Environmental Conservation have cautioned campers in the Adirondacks against using the BearVault because of its vulnerability here. There have been no reports of the BearVault being regularly broken into anywhere else in the country.
If you were planning on taking a BearVault 500 with you to the Adirondacks this summer, we suggest you instead leave your food, and yourself, at home. Sweet, sweet, bear-free home.
"Bear-Proof Can Is Pop-Top Picnic for a Crafty Thief" [New York Times] (Thanks to Charles!)
(Photo: OctopusHat)
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I, for one, welcome our new ursine overlords!
That picture and caption in the article are priceless. I want that picture framed and captioned as one of those "motivational" posters. Love it.
I want...nay, I demand a wallpaper-sized image of the bear om nom nomming that trashcan.
From the article: "BearVaults, one of several canister brands, are favored by many backpackers because they are light and can be opened with bare hands."
Bare hands should = Bear hands.
Sweet, bear-free home indeed.
Ranger Smith isn't gonna like this, Yellow-Yellow.
From the story..
"I'm an engineer, and if one genius bear can do it, sooner or later there might be two genius bears.
RUN FOR YOUR LIVES !!!!!
Hey Booboo, Lets get us a BearVaults Basket.. Brings to mind the phrase "Smarter than the average bear"
How do we know it's a genius bear? Perhaps it's the village idiot of the bear community. It is impossible to make anythign fool-proof as fools are so ingenious. Maybe he's so dumb he doesn't know it's bear proof, so it isn't for him.
@HomersBrain: We should really worry is the two genius bears get together and start birthing a new, genius bear species.
"In the process, she has emerged as a near-mythical creature in the High Peaks region of the northeastern Adirondacks."
I know I can always count on the New York Times for over-the-top writing about mundane topics. <3
@You know what ole' Jack Burton always says: A bear walks into a bar, walks up to the bartender and says, "I'll have a ................ beer."
The bartender asks, "What's with the big pause?"
The bear holds up his hands and replies, "Always had 'em."
When food is involved, bears will ALWAYS figure it out.
WE'RE HERE! WE'RE QUEER! WE DON'T WANT ANY MORE BEARS!
why so cruel, consumerist? that teddy just wants a hug....
:*(
"If you were planning on taking a BearVault 500 with you to the Adirondacks this summer, we suggest you instead leave your food, and yourself, at home. Sweet, sweet, bear-free home."
Why would you suggest that? Some people like camping, and are capable of doing it safely.
We used a bear canister out in Alaska backpacking that requires the screw-driver bit of a multi-tool to open. It was a giant pain, and I couldn't imagine any bear being able to infiltrate one (they also make the sides very smooth so it's hard to grip).
But our guides told us of at least one instance of a bear at one of the national parks who was known for opening them. They saw photos of the bear sitting on the ground, holding the canister under one arm, and using his NAIL to unscrew the screws on top!
Can we just say that he is smarter than the average bear?
I recommend using the backpackers cache. The only way a bear could open it is if he had a penny.
I don't know how to say this without sounding like a zealous PETA member, but I'm not, so, here goes:
What the hell is up with the anti-bear sentiment? I guess the last thing consumerist wants to sound like is a pansy-ass, synaptically-challenged hausfrau who thinks swimming in a lake is icky and dangerous and dirty, but the tone of this post is awfully close.
Not cool, consumerist.
@Chris Walters: Actually, you don't see many twinks out camping. It's the bears that prefer the outdoors. Something to do with lack of power outlets and therefore no hair driers keeps the more feminine gays away.
So, how long until Stephen Colbear picks up on this story?
Sounds like those sheltered western grizzlies don't get much practice digging for goodies in garbage dumps, like our (obviously smarter) black bears do. There are places in this part of the Adirondacks where bear-watching at the landfill is actually entertainment for campers and locals.
"And [Yellow Yellow] now appears to have apprentices; campers have reported seeing other bears getting into their BearVaults."
I hence a new reality TV show is born, "The Bear Apprentice".
@Liam Kinkaid: I totally forgot the gay meaning of "bear" when I typed that. I am a bad gay sometimes.
I'm very disappointed you didn't take the obvious route for the headline.
Yea just whatever you do don't kill Yogi for taking your pic-a-nik vault, Boo-boo will go Rambo on your ass!
@Liam Kinkaid: May you be gummed to death by a suddenly materializing Panda Bear for punning so recklessly.
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Yup.
Besides, to bring it on back to the Consumerist ethos, why buy a Bear Vault when you can simply rope up your goodies so it's hanging from a tree.
Except for that time that a gang of bears catapulted their cub to the suspended bundle, it's worked fine for me.
@Trai_Dep: Sadly, some places (Rocky Mountain National Park, for example) require bear-proof containers, such as this one, when camping in the backcountry.
As a experienced backpacker in grizzlycountry, bearbarrels and the like are stupid, Hang your food from a tree, rope and a bag weigh next to nothing and have no bulk, and bears cannot get into a well placed food bag. Before anyone asks, if you are camping in an area without trees, you are very unlikely to encounter a bear, and why are you camping there anyways? Bear barrels are heavy, bulky, accessable to bears, and expensive. A smart consumer will go with the common sense option.
@dennis_k85:
They should have done the testing in Jellystone Park instead of Yellowstone, that's the problem!
Why would anyone use these containers? If you want to keep bears away from your campsite and your food, hang your food in a sack from a tree. 12 feet off the ground, 4-6 feet from the trunk, and 4-6 feet down from the branch.
@thesadtomato: If you read the article linked to in the post, it says that many bears have learned that string tied to tree = food, and will snap or bite them to get the food down.
yellow. yellow. different. better.
@Smashville: Check. Got it.
But damn it, it doesn't rhyme!
How about:
We're hair! In our lair! Now GET BARE!!
And for the records, not all twinks are nelly. It just seems that way at times.
I've gone camping in the adirondacks for a number of years and have witness much bear ingenuity. We kept some of our food in bear boxes, big green wooden boxes with a lock on the front. This didn't stop the bear, as it would knock the entire door off at the hinges and not worry about the lock.
Screw top lids on peanut butter? No problem. Just chew a hole in the bottom of the jar and lick out the peanut butter!
Lazy? Even better. Wait til garbage is taken to the collection site and then hit the site a half hour before its collected every night.
Well, it's nice to know that we are helping bears to evolve quicker than they would have by themselves. Next, they'll figure out how to open doors and we'll really be in trouble!
![[farm4.static.flickr.com]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/2542041201_6a348093ce_o.jpg){kind=link}
Can Yellow-Yellow come open the Tylenol bottle for me?