Human-Bear Incidents Reach Record Low In Yosemite

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) -- The bears in Yosemite National Park are behaving better than they have in 40 years.

The park recorded the lowest number of human-bear incidents since 1975, when officials started tracking bears, who damage property, steal food, injure or kill people or act aggressively.

This marked a fourth year that a bear has not injured or killed a person.

In 2015, there were 76 incidents, which resulted in roughly $5,000 in property damage. This represents a 95 percent drop in the number of incidents and a 99 percent dip in property damage from the record high in 1998, when there were approximately 1,600 incidents resulting in $660,000 in property damage.

In 1998, It was not uncommon on a summer evening for bears to break into 10 to 15 cars.

Park spokesman Scott Gediman credits a public education campaign for the reduction.