Message from Ely Forest Service at Kawishiwi Station
******************
We have received two different bear reports one from Moose lake and one from the Snowbank- area a bear took food that was stored in a vehicle- also one just reported from a trip to Pipestone three weeks ago. Please remind folks to follow the rules and also not to take any food or snacks or for that matter anything thing that might smell like food into the tent. Please let us know about any reports you receive from your guests. Thank you !

Be bear aware: Bears are out of hibernation and in search of food. A fed bear is a dead bear! Whether you are on the Forest or in the Wilderness, take all precautions to discourage bears from visiting your site and keep your campsite clean. Here are some bear aware best practices:
• Dispose of fish remains by traveling at least 200 feet away from campsites, trails, portages and shorelines and pack out live bait.
• Never eat or store food ( toothpaste- lip balms -gum ) in your tent.
• Be prepared to securely store your food, toiletries and trash, or anything with a strong or sweet odor in a bear-resistant container or by hanging your food pack.
Thank you for doing your part to help keep the Forest and Wilderness safe, enjoyable, and pristine for all visitors.
#


Forest Service
Superior National Forest
p: 218-365-7600

1393 Hwy 169
Ely, MN 55731
www.fs.fed.us

I always wonder how I'll actually react when one comes. Thankfully I still haven't seen one up there.

Thanks, getting out of a vehicle is interesting. But if people are sloppy...they'll find it

cyclones30: "Thanks, getting out of a vehicle is interesting. But if people are sloppy...they'll find it "

Rules for parking areas; never, never have food in your car while you are out in the woods. Car warms up in the sun and bears can smell it.

One year a truck with a topper was parked at Snowbank (or Moose) and they had large canning jars of food in the back. Bear broke into the truck, broke a lot of jars, ate food and damaged the truck big time.

Even locked, a bear can make an "instant hatchback" out of a car almost anytime.

Had a bear bite into a full can of OFF one night.
We slept thru it. But I wonder what that taste like...

yogi59weedr: "Had a bear bite into a full can of OFF one night.
We slept thru it. But I wonder what that taste like..."

I'm sure it was nothing like he was hoping for! :-)

Let's try to keep our food & "stuff" safe and not interesting to hungry bears. It will be better for all of us and certainly better for the bears. If they don't get easy access to food, hopefully they don't become nuisance bears because that only leads to a bad end.

VoyageurNorth: "

cyclones30: "Thanks, getting out of a vehicle is interesting. But if people are sloppy...they'll find it "

Rules for parking areas; never, never have food in your car while you are out in the woods. Car warms up in the sun and bears can smell it.


One year a truck with a topper was parked at Snowbank (or Moose) and they had large canning jars of food in the back. Bear broke into the truck, broke a lot of jars, ate food and damaged the truck big time.


Even locked, a bear can make an "instant hatchback" out of a car almost anytime."

I had a friend go backpacking in RMNP a few years ago. A few days out from their exit they started passing groups that told them about a suburban that a bear wrecked at the parking lot.

My friend had begged his wife to let him use her new vehicle instead of his old truck because it could fit him and his buddies and their gear better. He had two days to dwell on it and sure enough, his suburban.

They laugh about it now, but he took a lot of heat from his wife over it.

The less robust window frames on some vehicles are like an easy open can for them.

VoyageurNorth: "

yogi59weedr: "Had a bear bite into a full can of OFF one night.
We slept thru it. But I wonder what that taste like..."

I'm sure it was nothing like he was hoping for! :-)


Let's try to keep our food & "stuff" safe and not interesting to hungry bears. It will be better for all of us and certainly better for the bears. If they don't get easy access to food, hopefully they don't become nuisance bears because that only leads to a bad end. "

Let's hope for a lot of rain up north and a good berry season too!

VoyageurNorth: "

cyclones30: "Thanks, getting out of a vehicle is interesting. But if people are sloppy...they'll find it "

Rules for parking areas; never, never have food in your car while you are out in the woods. Car warms up in the sun and bears can smell it.


One year a truck with a topper was parked at Snowbank (or Moose) and they had large canning jars of food in the back. Bear broke into the truck, broke a lot of jars, ate food and damaged the truck big time.


Even locked, a bear can make an "instant hatchback" out of a car almost anytime."

I worry for the welfare of any consumer, human or ursine, that eats food from a canning jar with such a poor seal. :-) Airtight means just that:

"Do I really need to leave a certain amount of headspace in the jar?
Yes, leaving the specified amount of headspace in a jar is important to assure a vacuum seal. If too little headspace is allowed the food may expand and bubble out when air is being forced out from under the lid during processing. The bubbling food may leave a deposit on the rim of the jar or the seal of the lid and prevent the jar from sealing properly. If too much headspace is allowed, the food at the top is likely to discolor. Also, the jar may not seal properly because there will not be enough processing time to drive all the air out of the jar."
Do I really need to leave a certain amount of headspace in the jar?

(BTW, I have personally watched bears at Flour Lake bite into sealed commercial food cans, having learned from their previous experience at dumps and the like that cans hold delectables.)

I worry for the welfare of any consumer, human or ursine, that eats food from a canning jar with such a poor seal. :-) Airtight means just that:

"Do I really need to leave a certain amount of headspace in the jar?
Yes, leaving the specified amount of headspace in a jar is important to assure a vacuum seal....

That is true, assuming the food in the jar is "canned", but that's not necessarily the case with this bear incident.

All that was stated is that food was stored in canning jars. It could have been corn flakes or something else stored in a glass jar to deter mice and insects.

I can't help but feel sorry for the bear, licking food out of broken glass. Ouch.

VoyageurNorth: "

cyclones30: "Thanks, getting out of a vehicle is interesting. But if people are sloppy...they'll find it "

Rules for parking areas; never, never have food in your car while you are out in the woods. Car warms up in the sun and bears can smell it.


One year a truck with a topper was parked at Snowbank (or Moose) and they had large canning jars of food in the back. Bear broke into the truck, broke a lot of jars, ate food and damaged the truck big time.


Even locked, a bear can make an "instant hatchback" out of a car almost anytime."

In late ‘70’s there was a van with a broken windshield. He wanted that bag of chips! I believe it was moose river north.

In Gatlinburg, I saw a bear operate an automatic sliding door on the side of a minivan. He even knew where in the van to check for food (center console). He wasn't considerate enough to close it when we chased him off, though.

So far no more bear sightings. Actually maybe seen but not any problems. :-)