Black bears can peel apart cars like sardine cans. They get their claws between the frame and the door and pull. I’ve seen this myself on a busy trailhead parking lot near Lake Tahoe’s Emerald Bay. Two cars that had been there overnight had been broken into by a bear, with their doors bent and glass shattered. Their owners had left food inside that the bear had smeeled and wanted. The third car apparently didn’t have any food in it, so the bear had instead left a large pile of scat on the windshield.
I remembered this yesterday, as our family returned to the campsite where we were staying for Labor Day weekend. We had stored our food in the provided locker. Some animal must’ve tried to find something to eat, and having failed, had peed all over the picnic table, ruining a dishcloth and making us wash everything else.
Later that night, after our kids had finally fallen asleep, I was sitting in a campchair and looked up at the night sky. Suddenly, something growled right in front of me. I shone my flashlight at it and saw a racoon-like figure slink away into the bushes.
Read more about my adventures with bears here.
Nehaveigur 