squirrel1
08-26-2012, 15:18
Been up in Yellowstone for the past week and ended up going to the Grizzly and Wolf Center in the town of West Yellowstone. The center takes in grizzlies and wolves that cannot be returned to the wild for various reasons. So one of the things they do at the center is work with the Park Service to test "bear-proof" items to see if they are actually bear-proof. Mostly things like dumpsters, containers, trash cans, etc. The object has to withstand 90 mintes of a bear active trying to open it up and get inside. The day I was there they were on day two of testing a backpack. They fill it with food such as kibble and fish and put it in the larger bear enclosure for when the grizzlies come out in pairs to exercise.
Here's a picture of the pack.
1718117182
According to the staff, it's constructed mostly of Kevlar, rigid (not soft-sided). The top and bottom come off and are secured with a fairly heavy-duty locking system. The straps were removed for testing. It was surprisingly quite light. They would not say who the manufacturer was.
The put fish in it and the bears have at it. These are the pics of a 550lb grizzly attempting to get in it.
1718317184
I watched for about 30 minutes while the bear gnawed on it, stomped on it, picked it up and smashed it, threw it in the water and stomped on it some more. It was an impressive display. After about 45 minutes, the bear gave up. Backpack was still secure.
On a side note, Yellowstone is beautiful. But it is taking me more of an effort to adjust to the difference in altitude. 1300-2000 at home versus 7000-8000 here. Not sure if it is all the smoke in the air or my old asthma but I definitely feel it while hiking.
Here's a picture of the pack.
1718117182
According to the staff, it's constructed mostly of Kevlar, rigid (not soft-sided). The top and bottom come off and are secured with a fairly heavy-duty locking system. The straps were removed for testing. It was surprisingly quite light. They would not say who the manufacturer was.
The put fish in it and the bears have at it. These are the pics of a 550lb grizzly attempting to get in it.
1718317184
I watched for about 30 minutes while the bear gnawed on it, stomped on it, picked it up and smashed it, threw it in the water and stomped on it some more. It was an impressive display. After about 45 minutes, the bear gave up. Backpack was still secure.
On a side note, Yellowstone is beautiful. But it is taking me more of an effort to adjust to the difference in altitude. 1300-2000 at home versus 7000-8000 here. Not sure if it is all the smoke in the air or my old asthma but I definitely feel it while hiking.