Every spring, Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo stages a graphic demonstration of what can happen to a sloppy, untended campsite. Their goal is to educate visitors on how we can live more harmoniously with bears. The hosts of the demo are the real thing: a pair of 850-pound grizzly bears looking for an easy meal. Check out the video (below) to see how long the cooler survives with the weight of a bear on it.

The video, which shows a previous year’s demo, offers a good reminder to secure your food and other scented items whenever you’re in bear country. While blueberries are typically a bear's favorite meal, they will make quick work of a campsite with poorly secured food.

Fortunately, many bear-prone campgrounds are outfitted with food lockers, which make the food-securing task easy. On backcountry travels, I always bring along a bear canister. They’re effective, though a bit heavier than I would like. Traditional bear-bagging is always an option, too, but this can be difficult to do properly. Underestimate bears at your own peril!

Have you ever had your food swiped by bears? Where were you?

For more information, check out the REI Expert Advice article on Reasons for Using Bear-resistant Canisters.

Photo by Dennis Dow.