Let the Oakland Zoo’s black bears show you why to secure a campsite

Want to know why it’s always a good idea to secure your camp in bear territory? Look no further than this demonstration provided by the Oakland Zoo – turns out its black bears are world-class educators when it comes to campsite safety (also in destroying campsites).

“For the second year in a row we created a mock campsite to demonstrate to guests how exposed food and more can attract bears,” the zoo writes on Facebook. “Human-wildlife conflict is the reason these black bears are at Oakland Zoo. In June 2017, when they were just cubs, these bears got into trouble coming into contact with humans. Per state policy, mother Cambria was deemed a public safety threat. After this incident, California Department of Fish and Wildlife considered the unique circumstances of the bear family and made an exception that resulted in giving the bears a second chance to live by allowing them to be permanently placed at Oakland Zoo.”

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For those wanting a play-by-play, briefly it is: bear devours marshmallows left on sticks; bear enters tent; bear opens cooler; bear munches on sleeping bag; bear overturns table; bear mushes tent; bear totally hoses cooler with its jaws.

The Facebook comments have been better than average. “That’s major destruction at its best. Campsite destroyed in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,” says one person. Another relates this camping story: “We had to lock up our snack food. Well, my sister hid hers in her sleeping bag. We heard muffled cries and seen a little cub sitting on my sister’s face while eating the snacks off her chest with her sleeping bag pulled down.”

The zoo has shared some tips on how to minimize your chances of encountering these curious creatures in the wild. And for folks who want to see last year’s campsite destruction, here’s that footage: