YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK – It wasn't that long ago that a trip to see Yosemite's granite cliffs and waterfalls was a descent into bear mayhem.
In 1997, black bears broke into more than 600 cars in the park, searching for human food as they tore open the doors of cars, smashing minivan windows with their paws. They wandered into tents, overturned garbage cans and sometimes injured tourists.
"You'd drive your car to the park and then it got destroyed because you left a candy bar in the door," said Mike Tollefson, a former park superintendent.
But today, in one of Yosemite's most remarkable wildlife success stories, the bears are behaving better. Reports of bears damaging property or injuring people have fallen 92 percent — from 1,584 in 1998 to 120 last year.
Biologists say the turnaround came from an unlikely strategy — training the bears and training people.
"More and more people are doing what they are supposed to do. But it only takes one slip-up to cost a bear's life," said Ryan Leahy, a Yosemite wildlife biologist and bear expert.
Yosemite has between 300 and 500 black bears. There has never been a recorded incident of a black bear killing a person in the park.
The relationship between people and bears has changed dramatically. From 1923 to 1971, rangers regularly left food out for bears so tourists could take pictures. Until 1972, there were open garbage dumps that provided bears massive amounts of easy food — and made them seem like circus attractions.
