-Human food is very attractive to wild animals

-NEVER feed animals at parks, they will crave human food. It will also change their food-seeking habits

-Jeff Waston a bear handler said "Bears always take the shortest route possible to get their calories and over the years they've learned humans tend to be an easy source of food. Bears are easy to train, but you can never untrain them."

-In 1998 bears at Yosemite broke into more than 1,300 parked vehicles, and caused more than $630,000 in damage

-Bears sense of smell is 100 times stronger than a dog's

-They can recognize food coolers and associate them with food

-Bears become aggressive for food and they will have to be killed if they become a problem

-Always remember-YOU are the visitor to these creatures natural habitat, it's your responsibility to not bring foreign substances into their environment

1. Never leave your food, even if it's still in your pack, unattended at any time of day
2. Anything aromatic-powder, ointment, toothpaste, bug spray, etc. must be stored overnight with food in bear and animal proof boxes
3. Leave nothing inside your pack overnight, and leave all pockets and compartments unzipped. This allows any nocturnal visitors to snoop around without tempting them to gnaw at or shred your gear
4. Store your food at least 100 ft. away from your sleeping area. Food stashes should be down wind

-Bear boxes are good for storage. They're large metal containers and they're sometimes available at the campground. They run about $80

• Bear wires work well also. They're strung high between well-spaced trees, people can suspend food bags from them
• Bear Poles