In article ,
(jane) writes:
|
| ~| ~Hell, the Californians are scared of bobcats! Ignore 90% of their
| ~| ~phobias.
| ~|
| ~| :-) I didn't ignore the one that said don't leave food in the car in
| ~| Yosemite though... bears *will* open them like a foodcan if you do!
| ~
| ~Hmm. A grizzly bear's claws are strong, but I rather doubt that
| ~they would claw through even the flimsy steel that most cars are
| ~made of. When I was there (25 years ago), the warning was about
| ~softtops; I can believe that they have learnt to break windows,
| ~but have serious difficulty in believing that they tear open car
| ~boots.
|
| I suspect most damage is indeed done by claws on the bodywork - makes
| keying look tame, though they will break windows. I have seen one
| photo of a car torn to bits, but it was while I was out there in '94
| (They put them up in the shop to stop folk leaving food out)

Torn to bits? That is even less plausible. Sorry. Elephants do
that, but not bears.

Both pages support my statement - the pictures were all of broken
windows etc., and so were the textual references. The reference to
a boot was only that bears could smell food inside it. Yes, I know
that the second page said "Picture a large can that's been opened
using a knife and a crowbar", but that is hyperbole.

| Ho hum. Least we aren't in danger of getting *those* in our gardens!

It's rather sad, really. Take a random Web page:

http://www.nps.gov/yose/news/1998/traffic.htm

August 19, 1998. ... There have been 12 major accidents, including
one fatal crash, on the Tioga Pass Road since it opened on July 1.

The fuss made about bears is at least ten times that made about
motor vehicles, and they are at least ten times less dangerous.
And that is in Yosemite!

People in the USA and UK are hysterical about the dangers caused
by wild animals.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.