[pct-l] How Bearvaults were defeated by one bear

[Ken Murray]

Carl is right, I need to protect this info from the Sierra Bears, but I figure you guys all know the secret handshake.  :)

This was explained to me by Jamie Hogan at the KO, and it is an amazing story.

With the previous version of BV, that had one bump on the lid, they began to get reports that the BV was being defeated in one location.  That version of the BV had a single bump, with a red label with an arrow pointing to the bump.  Apparently, YY, by chance, managed to grab the lid in the exact way so that one of her teeth was pushing on the bump, and she rotated her head, opening the lid.  That got it started.

As the failed cans mounted, Jamie had the chance to examine them.  What he observed, was that there was an angle of scratches on the lid (with the center being the bump), coinciding with the attempts until success.  As time went on, the width of the angle decreased, decreased, decreased, until she went right to the bump.  By that time, the newer version of the can came out, with TWO bumps.  No other bear had made the discovery, so that even if they lucked into the first bump, they would not be rewarded, because of the second.

However, YY, the genius bear, had figured out the bumps.  She grabs the edge of the lid, with her upper jaw tooth on the first bump and bottom jaw tooth embedded in the top of the lid, rotates the lid, then grabs the second bump, and rotates it off. She has been observed doing this.

Thankfully, she has not been able to pass this on to other bears.  I'm happy to say the local agency managers have decided that she only has a couple of years left in life expectancy, so they are leaving her alone (in other places where single bears have learned to defeat a cannister, they have apparently killed the bear), and educate the public in the meantime.

Jamie is working on another model designed to defeat YY.

As I've always thought, if bears had opposable thumbs, the purpose of bear cannisters would be to keep humans away from bear food.  

----- Original Message -----
From: "giniajim" <jplynch at crosslink.net>
To: "Ken Murray" <kmurray at pol.net>, pct-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 8:28:18 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Testing of Bear Cannisters / URSACK


Has anyone figured out how Y-Y does get the BVs open?  I just bought one (for the Sierras) and just curious. 


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Ken Murray 
To: pct-l at backcountry.net 
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 11:23 PM 
Subject: [pct-l] Testing of Bear Cannisters / URSACK 

"The bear canister that was defeated by Yellow-Yellow was a Bear Vault. The 
Bear Vault can be compressed by squeezing the sides and popping the top off. 
The Garcia cannot be compressed. It's sides are more rigid and it is shaped 
with a wider middle with a ridge. Good engineering!" 
======================================= 
WHILE it is true that the bear can was a Bear Vault, the models on the market 
CANNOT be opened by compression.  Older models could be.  Yellow-Yellow uses a 
totally different technique. 
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