Human-bear interactions in Yosemite are at a 40-year low, Yosemite National Park 聽last week. Even though Yosemite bears are getting smarter, just 76聽bear incidents鈥攚hich include聽stealing food and acting aggressively toward people鈥攁nd $4,909 in property damage were reported in the park this year, according to the release. This year is also the fourth in a row that a bear has not injured or killed a person.
Numbers from 2015 show a major drop from 1998, when聽a record high of 1,600 bear interactions and $660,000 in damages were reported in Yosemite. During that聽summer,聽bears were breaking into ten聽to聽15 cars per night in search of food.聽From聽1975 to 1985, human food made up the largest part of the diet for聽Yosemite鈥檚 bears.
Park officials attribute the reduction in incidents to the , which began in 2000 to educate visitors and employees on bear protocol, such as keeping pets protected聽at night, cleaning food off grills, and using .
鈥淲e would like to thank park visitors for their help in making this campaign an overwhelming success,鈥 Don Neubacher, superintendent of聽Yosemite National Park, said in the press release. 鈥淭here is no more of a rewarding experience than seeing a bear foraging naturally.鈥