[pct-l] Bear canister confusion

[jmayer@rochester.rr.com (Jim Mayer)]

Ok,

Let me see if I can help.  The thing to remember is that wild mammals are
much, much, more flexible than people are.  For example, look at the
ridiculously small holes that mice can squeeze through.  It isn't safe to
assume that just because a two hundred pound person won't fit in a bear
cannister that you can't get a bear in.

The other thing to remember is that bears, particularly once they've become
habituated to human food, will do almost ANYTHING to get at it.  Recall some
of the stories from this list about what bears have done to get at hanging
bags!

The key point to successful use of a bear cannister is to keep your food in
it when you are hiking.  That way the cannister SMELLS of food, and the bear
will go to almost any lengths to squeeze itself in.  It's a bit like the old
monkey trap made out of a cocanut with a small hole cut in the side.
Anyway, once the bear is in the cannister, you (quickly) pop the lid back
on, fasten the screws, and mail the bear to NPS headquarters in Washington,
D.C., for evaluation.  Make sure that you send the cannister by ground
transport as postal regulations prohibit mailing bears by air.

It's a simple procedure that I have successfully employed on every trip I've
taken on the PCT.

-- Jim

----- Original Message -----
From: "Karl Brandt" <brandt@snf.stanford.edu>
To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Friday, August 10, 2001 6:19 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Bear canister confusion


>
> So I'm confused about how these bear canisters work. Aren't they too small
> to fit a bear? Besides, how would you coax a hungry bear to get inside one
> in the first place? :-)
>
> -Karl
>
> *********************************************************************
> Karl Brandt
> http://people.ucsc.edu/~kbrandt/
>
>
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