According to that article: "She had also reportedly gotten more aggressive with hikers and campers, something she was not known for in the past, Winchell said." So, I guess it was a good time for her to go. Still, RIP Yellow Yellow.
The legend of Yellow Yellow will make for good "campfire" talk for decades. "Campfire" in quotes because you can't have an actual campfire in the territory in which she roamed.
But despite its romantic aspects, the legend of Yellow Yellow is the tragic story of a habituated bear. Every canister she broke into to, and every camper she stole food from, was just one more imposition on her freedom to live wild and free of dependence on humans.
Hopefully the legend of Yellow Yellow will help convince backpackers and land managers to be vigilant about keeping bears from becoming habituated. I suspect, however, that her legend will end up being more entertainment than lesson.
The legend of Yellow Yellow will make for good "campfire" talk for decades. "Campfire" in quotes because you can't have an actual campfire in the territory in which she roamed.
But despite its romantic aspects, the legend of Yellow Yellow is the tragic story of a habituated bear. Every canister she broke into to, and every camper she stole food from, was just one more imposition on her freedom to live wild and free of dependence on humans.
Hopefully the legend of Yellow Yellow will help convince backpackers and land managers to be vigilant about keeping bears from becoming habituated. I suspect, however, that her legend will end up being more entertainment than lesson.
Dude WTF. She had just had cubs this year, what happens to them this winter? I cannot believe this. I was one of the first people to have a can busted into back in 2008 with the beat vault I had rented. To me, Yellow Yellow was part of the allure of the High Peaks. And someone shoots her. Unreal.
Sidenote I met Dave Winchell a few times this sumer while working trail crew up there.
Hm, somethings amiss here. First, the article says "Friday October 21" which is incorrect, it would either be Friday October 19th or Sunday October 21st (interestingly, that was my last weekend with my trail crew up there, Friday being our graduation ceremony). Second, it said she was killed in the town of Jay, which is a good distance away from where she usually romps. And third, there were no yellow tags on the bear killed. So is this really true? Or is this some fraudulent claim?
What I don't get is the silly requirement for bear canisters... if folks practiced hanging their food properly rather than leaving it on ground level in a canister I'd bet there'd be fewer problems.
Nothing like a bureaucracy to screw things up with ill-conceived regulation.
-------------- Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty. – Socrates
And in some areas, like the Sierra Nevada mts of California, there are not trees at every spot people camp. Bear canisters have proven to reduce the reward bears get from hikers, so I am not sure why anyone would not appreciate what they do.
-------------- Everything I know, I learned by doing it wrong at least twice.
The easiest way to ruin a Friday is to realize it is only Tuesday.
She placed her radio collar on another bear. Even smarter than we thought!
I wouldnt put it past her..
As to why there needs to be canisters, its not just because people hang their food improperly, its because Yellow Yellow and others figured out how to get properly hung food down on the ground. For petes sake bears have been documented chewing through metal cables to get to food! But to me, even more important is keeping darn vermin away from my food. Thats where a can really shines. Not to mention ease of use (its midnight and i want a snack...)
And in some areas, like the Sierra Nevada mts of California, there are not trees at every spot people camp. Bear canisters have proven to reduce the reward bears get from hikers, so I am not sure why anyone would not appreciate what they do.
The Adirondacks has no shortage of trees I assure you.
-------------- Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty. – Socrates
And in some areas, like the Sierra Nevada mts of California, there are not trees at every spot people camp. Bear canisters have proven to reduce the reward bears get from hikers, so I am not sure why anyone would not appreciate what they do.
The Adirondacks has no shortage of trees I assure you.
And no shortage of French Canadians cooking bacon in maple syrup next to their tents, then complaining about the bears the next morning.
And in some areas, like the Sierra Nevada mts of California, there are not trees at every spot people camp. Bear canisters have proven to reduce the reward bears get from hikers, so I am not sure why anyone would not appreciate what they do.
The Adirondacks has no shortage of trees I assure you.
And no shortage of French Canadians cooking bacon in maple syrup next to their tents, then complaining about the bears the next morning.
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Hahaha awesome video. I have two differing stories about FC's to relate..
At Lake Colden, I met two guys at the Beaver Point lean to who said the french canadian couple at the other lean to said they would "prefer if they didn't" stay at that lean to with them. I dont doubt it either since I asked to stay with them and they directed me to the empty lean to, which I was happy with, but I could tell they wanted to be alone. Fine and dandy, but you dont turn people away from a lean to.
Second story, much better representation of French Canadians. On my 26th birthday, I hiked the Lower Great Range with two American friends and two French Canadians that were friends of an American friend. They were incredible guys, had a great attitude despite the weather (it was upper 30's, clouded in, and misty for all 14 miles and 4 peaks), and a great sense of humor. They were quick to make fun of themselves for being French Canadian!!
Had Quebecois living behind us in the woods where I grew up... syrup buckets were firmly fixed to the maples every spring. They tapped the trees with a 22 rifle, which as a kid I thought was awesome.
My French friends can't understand what language they speak...
-------------- Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty. – Socrates
And in some areas, like the Sierra Nevada mts of California, there are not trees at every spot people camp. Bear canisters have proven to reduce the reward bears get from hikers, so I am not sure why anyone would not appreciate what they do.
The Adirondacks has no shortage of trees I assure you.
I am not familiar with this bear or this region.
I do know that there are bears in the Sierra Nevada that have successfully retrieved food bags that were properly hung, on numerous occasions.
Here is another post I made in a local forum trying to warn hikers about her aggressiveness; it turned into my bitc* slapping some delusional idiot about guns.
All good things come to an end and Yellow Yellow lived to a ripe old age in this modern age. The hunter was doing nothing illegal and killed this bear per his right. If you still don't like the fact she died, blame all the stupid hikers who have gone up to the High Peaks in the Adirondacks training these magnificant creatures to interact with people. If it is any consolations, there are more bears in NYS than ever and their populations grow by 10% a year. Get used to a lot more dead bears either by car, starvation, a game warden's bullet and being electrocuted by just climbing up a power pole.
I did enjoy reading about Yellow Yellow and her life during all the bear postings this year. Perhaps someone will take the opportunity to use her image and those of her 3 cubs (if they survive the winter) in a public service program to educate others on the consequences of feeding wild animals. Smokey the Bear was heavily utilized in the Appalachian Mountains for forest fire prevention.
Off to check out who went gunning for Yellow Yellow.
I did enjoy reading about Yellow Yellow and her life during all the bear postings this year. Perhaps someone will take the opportunity to use her image and those of her 3 cubs (if they survive the winter) in a public service program to educate others on the consequences of feeding wild animals. Smokey the Bear was heavily utilized in the Appalachian Mountains for forest fire prevention.
Off to check out who went gunning for Yellow Yellow.
Nice thought Duke!
Won't work though; too many idiots crawling over every inch of the High Peaks leaving their crap all over the place. They know all about the regulations with bears and food storage but all they give a crap about is themselves. You can take comfort knowing there is a large, healthy population of black bears all over NYS and in spite of all the stupid, idiotic things some "hikers" do (see 1rst. video @ 2:25 second mark in original post), there are more and more of them every year and they are quickly running out of space unfortunatly!
I did enjoy reading about Yellow Yellow and her life during all the bear postings this year. Perhaps someone will take the opportunity to use her image and those of her 3 cubs (if they survive the winter) in a public service program to educate others on the consequences of feeding wild animals. Smokey the Bear was heavily utilized in the Appalachian Mountains for forest fire prevention.
Off to check out who went gunning for Yellow Yellow.
Nice thought Duke!
Won't work though; too many idiots crawling over every inch of the High Peaks leaving their crap all over the place. They know all about the regulations with bears and food storage but all they give a crap about is themselves. You can take comfort knowing there is a large, healthy population of black bears all over NYS and in spite of all the stupid, idiotic things some "hikers" do (see 1rst. video @ 2:25 second mark in original post), there are more and more of them every year and they are quickly running out of space unfortunatly!
Sadly, this is true. The ADK High Peaks are easily accessible and there are many inexperienced hikers in the area. I was one myself once; although, we did hang our food on the bear cables across Marcy Dam. It made no difference. Bears lined up on the dam, literally, and took turns jumping off and swiping at food bags hanging from the cable. It was an amazing spectacle and there was absolutely nothing anyone could do to deter them.
-------------- The difference between people who think for themselves and those that follow the herd is that thinking people aren't afraid of reality.
I did enjoy reading about Yellow Yellow and her life during all the bear postings this year. Perhaps someone will take the opportunity to use her image and those of her 3 cubs (if they survive the winter) in a public service program to educate others on the consequences of feeding wild animals. Smokey the Bear was heavily utilized in the Appalachian Mountains for forest fire prevention.
Off to check out who went gunning for Yellow Yellow.
Nice thought Duke!
Won't work though; too many idiots crawling over every inch of the High Peaks leaving their crap all over the place. They know all about the regulations with bears and food storage but all they give a crap about is themselves. You can take comfort knowing there is a large, healthy population of black bears all over NYS and in spite of all the stupid, idiotic things some "hikers" do (see 1rst. video @ 2:25 second mark in original post), there are more and more of them every year and they are quickly running out of space unfortunatly!
Sadly, this is true. The ADK High Peaks are easily accessible and there are many inexperienced hikers in the area. I was one myself once; although, we did hang our food on the bear cables across Marcy Dam. It made no difference. Bears lined up on the dam, literally, and took turns jumping off and swiping at food bags hanging from the cable. It was an amazing spectacle and there was absolutely nothing anyone could do to deter them.
One would think that positive reinforcement for performing splendidly opening bear canisters might have caused a few of the bears to stay away from the hanging food bags and making piñata-type bear entertainment. What fun to win a bologna sandwich and go for a swim.
The ADK High Peaks sounds like a lovely place to hike especially if you want to video black bears stealing smelly backpacks at the shelter. No one even carries bear spray there to try to get their possessions back. Apparently the bears are very photogenic and have been trained to steal, stop and pose for the cameras.
Survival Skills 101 • Eat Better
