Wild Bears ‘Having a Party’ in Coronavirus-Closed Yosemite National Park

Wild bears in Yosemite National Park are coming out of the woodwork in what park officials are calling a "party" following the park’s March 20 closure in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The wildly popular park is visited by millions of people every year, and at the same time hundreds of bears call the Rhode Island-sized park home, said Ranger Katie, a wildlife biologist who has worked with black bears in Yosemite National Park for more than a decade, in a Facebook live streaming over the weekend. "For the most part, I think [the bears] are having a party," said Ranger Katie. "This time of year is difficult for the animals here. There can be literally walls of cars, stop-and-go traffic, or people in the park." American black bears can weigh between 300 and 500 pounds and seeing them can "evoke excitement, awe, and fear," writes the National Park Service. Ranger Katie is a part of the park’s human-bear management program, whose role is to mitigate conflict between humans and bears . In the video, the park ranger uses a tracking device to show a young male bear heading towards the visitor’s center, which would normally be packed […]

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