Oct 19, 2009: Car Thief
 

Honey... Honey, wake up... wake up, I hear something outside... somebody's in our car.
Huh, whaa, morning?... who, where, whaa?

While watching the car rock, the car alarm goes off, so they call the police.
The police arrive, the car is still rocking, the alarm is still wailing, so they shine their lights inside....

http://cellar.org/2009/carthief.jpg

Book 'em, Danno.

Colorado bears have gotten pretty adept at opening car doors, from the outside.
From the inside, after the door shuts behind them, not so much.
Notice the wire hanging down inside the windshield. I'll bet that interior was torn up, big time.

Oh, the cops opened the door and the bear took off like a shot. No arrest.;)

I could never figure the logic of camping grounds like Yellowstone NP. They provide big strong nuclear-bomb proof boxes to store your food in overnight in case hungry bears come a-roamin'. but expect you to sleep in a nylon tent with a bear outside, which you may recall is hungry.....

Bears don't see all that well, but rely on their sense of smell, like dogs. Oreos are much more appealing than those stinky people. People killed by bears as a result of confrontations, are rarely eaten.

Car probably has bear crap spread all thru it too.

Yak!

Noteworthy, but I would find it small consolation.

I guess the door was unlocked, right? I mean, the bears haven't figured out how to use coat-hangers to open doors, have they?

unlocked, with food in there. in bear country. they deserve it.

Think their insurance will cover it? Or do you think they will have a just grin and bear it clause?:greenface

ooooh . . .

don't you mean 'claws'?

Was there a pic-a-nic basket in the car?

About 60 years ago my family drove to Yellowstone. They could only afford a tiny cabin, so the little kids slept in the car, parked right next to it. We awoke in the wee hours when an irritated bear became wedged between the car and the cabin.

I'm almost sure they would have locked us into the car. Wouldn't they?

I don't think locking the doors makes much difference. I've seen photos where the bear gets its claws behind the top of the window and just peels it off.

Yeah, locking a car door isn't going to stop a bear, just slow it down a little bit.

Black bears will rarely ever bother humans, unless they are surprised or defending their young, I believe. They are, basically, cowards. The times that people get attacked by black bears are because the people are being stupid (I'ma gonna touch that bear! Betty Lou, hold my beer!), or because they just surprised the bear in the wild (bear bells exist for a reason). At least, that's what my brief research has led me to believe.

Bear bells?

Due to the frequency of human-bear encounters, the B C Fish and
Wildlife Branch is advising hikers, hunters, fishermen, and any persons
that use the out of doors in a recreational or work related function to
take extra precautions while in the field.

We advise the outdoorsman to wear little noisy bells on clothing so as
to give advance warning to any bears that might be close by so you don’t
take them by surprise.

We also advise anyone using the out-of doors to carry “Pepper Spray”
with him in case of an encounter with a bear.

Outdoorsmen should also be on the watch for fresh bear activity, and
be able to tell the difference between black bear feces and grizzly bear
feces. Black bear feces is smaller and contains lots of berries and
squirrel fur. Grizzly Bear feces has bells in it and smells like pepper.

hee!