Food can be stored properly out of my sight and away from where I can get at it by absconding with it but food smells at Dominoes or a restaurant or kitchen still make me stop, seek the source, and follow them to the source when I'm desperately hungry. It's not the food stored in freezers or dry stored I'm truly after. It's where the food is cooked and consumed and the food smells left behind on clothing, etc that are the biggest attractant. Now take that in context of being a 200-500 lb bear who has to scavenge as an omnivore with that species sense of smell and strength. What we're doing is going into someone elses's home/house during the Super Bowl with piping hot pepperoni pizza and a 12 pack of beer expecting the owners to not take notice.

On the other hand, I rather enjoyed watching three black bears open up a sedan like a sardine can with big can opener claws in Yosemite Valley seeking food left opened and out stored overnight inside the car. Yosemite Rangers asked the surprised and obviously irate owners upon arrival if any food and specifically any open food had been left in the car, a blatant violation of well communicated Yosemite NP Rules. The humans said no, no food was left in the car. They lied! The Rangers found two grocery receipts among the food fray paid with credit cards. They asked the Tourons without giving away their investigation direction if they had any credit cards. Sure enough the credit card numbers and food remains on the receipts matched ownership to the humans credit cards that owned the sedan. The Tourons were ridiculously attempting to hold the NPS liable for the damage. The moral of the story is investigate enough and negative bear/human encounters can most often be solely blamed on human behavior including ignoring of rules. Then, in human specie's hubris attempt to deny or lie about the extent of it's specie's involvement. I have a pic somewhere of one bear sitting like a human rear legs spread eating cheese Doodles out of a bag like a human child sitting in front of the TV eating. I couldn't help myself but applaud the Rangers. Sedan had to be flat bedded undrivable.


Ahh, the mistaken world view humanity is above and separate from Nature/the environment not another predatory animal in Nature. What goes along with this view is mistakenly defining the "take dominion of the Earth and subdue it" command to one in which raping, pillaging, and unwise stewardship becomes the standard human behavior. The connection humanity once had with Nature is replaced with a connection to the economy/money/rampant unbridled consumption/waste/conquest.


Yeah it's preachy but humanity especially here in the U.S. likes to ignore the consequences of such a world view.