When it comes to meals on wheels, the black bears of Yosemite may have figured out that minivans may be vehicles that offer the best prospects for finding something to nibble.

Picture the scene: thousands of visitors camp overnight each year in California's Yosemite valley, one of the most popular U.S. national parks. Many, if not all, of the hundreds of parked cars contain food or at least a lingering whiff of snacks.

NGS photo by Dick Durrance II

Every year scores of campers report vehicles broken into by perpetually famished bears strong and determined enough to smash windows and pop doors open to get at the food within. Not even regular nocturnal patrols by park rangers seem to deter the ursine rogues.

Knowing that bears select techniques to hunt and gather food in the wild that get the best return for the energy expended, scientists wondered if bears apply a similar strategy to parked vehicles.

"The top choice of vehicle by black bears in Yosemite National Park has been the minivan."

"For a seven-year period, the top choice of vehicle by black bears in Yosemite National Park has been the minivan," says a news release by the Journal of Mammalogy, a research journal published by the American Society of Mammalogists.

"The bears seem to base this decision on 'fuel efficiency'--that is, which vehicle offers the best opportunity of finding a meal. As a result, black bears have shown a strong preference for breaking into minivans over other types of vehicles," the Journal says.

NGS photo of black bear by David Alan Harvey

An article in the October 2009 issue of the Journal of Mammalogy examines the number of vehicles, by make and model, that black bears broke into from 2001 to 2007 in Yosemite. The research was led by Stewart W. Breck of the U.S. Department of Africulture's National Wildlife Research Center.

"In all years, minivans had the largest or second largest number of break-ins by bears," the Journal said. "When the number of break-ins was compared to the numbers of each type of vehicle visiting the park in 2004-2005, only minivans were broken into at a rate higher than expected based on their availability."

Why do bears prefer minivans?
 
As humans and wildlife must increasingly coexist in closer proximity, animal populations will make use of resources associated with humans, such as livestock, trash, and pet food, the Journal explained.

"Black bears have been known to raid trash cans, break into houses and cars, and steal food from campers. In nature, black bears are selective in their foraging behavior. That same selectivity may apply when choosing from which vehicle to seek a meal."
 

There was a time when visitors in U.S. national parks regularly fed black bears from their cars, as seen in this picture. This is no longer allowed, but bears still associate people and their cars with food.

NGS photo by Andre H. Brown

Reports detailing 908 vehicles broken into by Yosemite black bears between 2001 and 2007 were reviewed. The rates of break-ins for nine categories included: minivan, 26 percent; sport-utility vehicle, 22.5 percent; small car, 17.1 percent; and sedan, 13.7 percent.

The article offers four hypotheses about why Yosemite's black bears are choosing the minivan:

1) Minivans are more likely to emit food odors, based on the fact that minivans are designed for families with children---who are more likely to spill food and drink in a vehicle.
2) Passengers of minivans are more prone to leave large amounts of food in a vehicle parked overnight, including in coolers ands grocery bags.
3) Minivans may be structurally easier to break into than other types of vehicles. Bears most often gained access to minivans by popping open a rear side window.
4) A few individual bears could be responsible for all the break-ins, and they are displaying a learned behavior for choosing minivans.
 

A black bear raids a picnic table in the Great Smoky Mountains National park.

NGS photo by George F. Mobley  

The black bear (Ursus americanus) is one of the most adaptable of all large carnivores and conflict with humans is a critical and growing management issue throughout its range, the researchers write in their article. "Understanding details of the foraging behavior of carnivores in [human] environments can help reveal specific causes of conflict, leading to better strategies for reducing availability of [human] foods and preventing conflict."
 
This work was funded by Yosemite National Park and the USDA's National Wildlife Research Center.

NGS photo by David Alan Harvey

Snow leopards, wolves, Marco Polo sheep, and brown bears are among 33 endangered and threatened species that have gained the protection of the Afghanistan Government, the country's National Environment Protection Agency (NEPA) has announced.

Snow Leopard photo by Julie Larsen Maher/WCS

The listing of protected species--20 mammals, seven birds, four plants, an amphibian, and an insect--provides legal protection to Afghanistan's wildlife, which have been devastated by more than 30 years of conflict, said the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

NEPA, WCS (with funding from USAID), Kabul University, and Afghanistan's Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, created the Afghanistan Wildlife Executive Committee (AWEC) to facilitate the listing, the first of its kind in Afghanistan.

Marco Polo sheep Photo by Stephane Ostrowski/WCS

"In July 2008, AWEC began evaluations of species such as the snow leopard, Marco Polo sheep, and Asiatic black bear," WCS said in a statement. "To make status determinations, AWEC and WCS worked with world experts to obtain the most recent and accurate information available for Afghanistan and the region, and then evaluated those data using scientific criteria established by the global authority on species listing: the IUCN Red List."

The list of protected Afghanistan wildlife may be expanded to as many as 70 species by the end of the year, WCS added.

Asiatic Black bear Photo by WCS

"The Wildlife Conservation Society commends the Afghanistan's National Environment Protection Agency for showing a continued commitment to conserving its natural heritage--even during these challenging times," said Steven E. Sanderson, President and CEO of WCS.

"WCS believes that conservation can often serve as diplomacy, and we are optimistic that this commitment to conservation will benefit all of Afghanistan's people."

Pallas Cat photo by Julie Larsen Maher/WCS

The snow leopard and other species are under pressure from excessive hunting, loss of key habitat and illegal trade.

Snow leopard pelts for sale in tourist shops sell for as much as $1,500 each, WCS said."International trade in species like the snow leopard is illegal under international law because it is globally endangered. Now that the snow leopard is protected under Afghan law, it is also illegal for Afghan nationals or internationals to hunt or trade the species within Afghanistan."

Greater Flamingo Photo by Mark Anderson

NEPA will be responsible for managing Afghanistan's protected species, including writing recovery plans for species designated as threatened.

Species will be re-evaluated every five years to determine whether populations have recovered to the extent where they may be removed from the protected list.

Eurasian Lynx photo by George Schaller

Last month Afghanistan announced the creation of its first national park: Band-e-Amir, six deep-blue lakes separated by natural dams made of travertine, a mineral deposit.

WCS, the only organization conducting ongoing scientific conservation studies in Afghanistan in the past 30 years, is working with the Afghan government to establish a network of parks and protected areas.

Markhor Photo by Graham Jones

Asiatic Cheetah (photographed in Iran) by Iran DOE/WCS/CACP/UNDP

Persian Leopard (photographed in Iran) by Iran DOE/WCS/CACP/UNDP

Urial Photo by George Schaller

Saker Falcon Photo by Mark Thomas

The 5-month-old twins are only the third Bornean sun bear litter to be born in North America, all of which have occurred at the San Diego Zoo, the zoo said in a caption accompanying this photo. Zoo researchers are studying reproductive biology and maternal care of the sun bear.

Visitors to the San Diego Zoo can learn more about these cubs during Zoo Discovery Days: Bear Bonanza March 19-22. The four-day event showcases the six species of bears at the Zoo: brown bear, giant panda, polar bear, sun bear, sloth bear and Andean bear.

The smallest member of the bear family (they grow to only about half the size of an American black bear), the reclusive sun bear's native habitat is the dense lowland forests of Southeast Asia. They take their name from the golden bib-shape patch on their chest, which legend says represents the rising sun.

The sun bear has been classified as vulnerable by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), meaning the species faces a "high risk of extinction in the wild." The two major threats to the species are habitat loss and commercial hunting, IUCN says.

Photo taken March 16, 2009, by Tammy Spratt, San Diego Zoo.

National Geographic News Photo Gallery: Most Endangered Bears Ranked.

Wildlife Direct Blog: Bornean Sun Bear Conservation

Photo credit: Mehgan Murphy/Smithsonian's National Zoo

Just in time for Valentine's Day, the Smithsonian's National Zoo introduced its newest member, a male red panda, Tate (right), to female Shama (left) this week.

Tate recently arrived from the Cape May Zoo in New Jersey, a zoo statement said. "After a day's acclimation to the exhibit, Tate was introduced to one-and-a-half year-old Shama and immediately exhibited breeding behavior.A birth for this pair would be significant for the Zoo -- red pandas are endangered and breed only once a year," the zoo said.

A relative of both the giant panda and the raccoon, the red panda is a member of its own unique family -- the Ailuridae. Its natural range is the mountains of Nepal, Myanmar, and central China.

The Smithsonian's National Zoo celebrated Valentine's Day today with "Woo at the Zoo," a "light-hearted exploration into the sexual behaviors of animals."

Presentations by animal experts were to feature a scientific ("yet entertaining") look at the more remarkable animal facts on reproduction, choosing mates and raising families, the Zoo said.

"Whether covered in fur, feathers or scales, from courtship to consummation, you will be amazed to learn that many species indulge in unimaginably exotic romantic rituals,"  said Brandie Smith, senior curator of animals.   

Photo of sloth bears courtesy Smithsonian's National Zoo

I am constantly amazed by the rituals of animals. I selected a few exotic rituals from stories covered by National Geographic News in recent years:

Sexy Beasts: Valentine's Day Gone Wild

Photo courtesy WCS

North America's urban areas have become death traps for black bears, luring wild populations to a diet of garbage and an early demise, the Wildlife Conservation Society reported today.

"Black bears that live around urban areas weigh more, get pregnant at a younger age, and are more likely to die violent deaths," WCS said in conjunction with a study published in the Fall 2008 issue of the journal Human-Wildlife Conflicts.

While looking for whales in Alaska's Chukchi Sea last week, U.S. government officials noticed an unusually high number of polar bears swimming in the open sea. Some were apparently heading for shore and some were heading toward ice. Several of them were 15 to 20 miles from either destination.

Polar bears are good swimmers, of course, and they do cross water to get out to the ice, which they use as a platform to hunt marine life.

Biologists have predicted that polar bears might be in trouble as global warming causes the Arctic ice to retreat.