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As noted in the article, the headline is misleading. The population obviously hasn't quadrupled since Yosemite closed to visitors on March 20th. It is remarka

As noted in the article, the headline is misleading. The population obviously hasn't quadrupled since Yosemite closed to visitors on March 20th. It is remarkable though to see how quickly wildlife is willing to re-enter areas that have historically been overrun with humans!

ASalazarMX 7y ago
I was going to ask how their bears reproduced so fast. Maybe they were waterbears.
techopoly 7y ago
This is probably why rabbits have been getting abnormally bold in my yard lately...
- burlesona 7y ago
  Yeah there are suddenly a lot of rabbits around me too. I suspect it’s the great decrease in cars running them over.
  - wtvanhest 7y ago
    It is probably because you are home instead of the office in springtime.
- outworlder 7y ago
  You are lucky. Now I got Raccoons and Skunks. Where there were none before.
OscarCunningham 7y ago
'Bear population makes itself four times more vulnerable to the return of humans.'
dang 7y ago
If you say that the population of a city has doubled, it mostly means that people moved there, not that they were born there. The headline is fine. All: Obviously the bears weren't born in the last month. Please assume basic intelligence in your fellow readers. Edit: Ok you guys, I surrender. There is no fighting the dreaded title fever. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=%22title%20fever%22&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu....
- wtvanhest 7y ago
  I respectfully disagree. Yosemite is massive, and the population of bears simply did not quadruple or migrate from other areas 4x. After a few seconds of thinking about it, it’s obvious that 4x the bears were not born there, but it’s just interesting enough to get a click, to find out what the headline really means, and therefore is a type of clickbait.
- TheRealPomax 7y ago
  The population of a city is based on humans, which take 15 to 20 years before they have young. Wildlife typically takes "some crazy short period of time" like a year, and so when we say the population has double, tripled, etc. most people will (reasonably) understand that to mean that's because of reproduction, not because of migration. So if the cause is migration, the headline kind of needs that, as we're talking about wildlife and not human settlements.
  - baddox 7y ago
    > most people will (reasonably) understand that to mean that's because of reproduction Subjective claims are fine, maybe you misunderstood the headline (although by definition anyone complaining about the wording actually didn't misunderstand it). But that's an empirical claim that could be tested. And my suspicions are that almost no one in the target audience would think for one second that the bears have reproduced enough in less than one year to quadruple in population.
- bobbydroptables 7y ago
Florin_Andrei 7y ago
They define "population" as the number of bears living in that area. That could easily quadruple if bears move there from surrounding areas, which is to be expected if humans are out of the equation. This is no different from the human population of cities - it goes up or down not just due to births and deaths, but also due to individuals moving in or out.
- djrogers 7y ago
  Yosemite Nat'l Park is 1,187 square miles. There is no way that enough bears have migrated into the park to have quadrupled it's population from surrounding areas. The title references a quote regarding bear sightings in the tiny part of the valley that is normally populated with people. It's not only an inaccurate title, it's doubly misleading...
- nogabebop23 7y ago
  I don't think we'd accept population estimates for our cities as "anecdotal observation from random hotel employee" either though.
  - Florin_Andrei 7y ago
    Right, so the accuracy of that observation is a separate problem.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
undersuit 7y ago
The wildlife is trying to enter all the time. This isn't sudden, like you said the population hasn't quadrupled in this time, the wildlife tens of miles outside the populated areas aren't suddenly aware of the reduced tourist population these last few weeks. This is just the natural response of the local ecosystem from having reduced numbers of competitors for resources.
eyegor 7y ago
In Yosemite specifically, the bears and bobcats have been trying to push into the built up areas of the park forever. Of course this used to be because the human area was guaranteed food but now it's probably just curiosity. In Yosemite, the rangers are very good about not killing/injuring the wildlife and only driving them away. The typical ranger response is either paintball guns or pepper spray so the animals don't think humans are a threat, just that the food is not worth paintballs and pepper spray. With no humans to push them back, they'll take over the park scouring for the food that they expect to find. Most national parks operate on a strike system for the wildlife, Yosemite is the only one I'm aware of that will keep annoying a bear away even if it steals food every day for a week.
- jelliclesfarm 7y ago
  I live in the Bay Area. Since SIP, I have had bobcats, wild turkeys, deer, fox, coyotes all come by curious and interested. We have always had seasonal jack rabbits, possums and raccoons...plus the resident raptors and snakes. The other wild life is not rare either but the sightings are increased. I appreciate every sighting. Not complaining. If they are going to venture in an urban setting like my Bay Area city, I can only imagine how it must be to test the boundaries unabused at Yosemite.

ASalazarMX 7y ago

I was going to ask how their bears reproduced so fast. Maybe they were waterbears.

techopoly 7y ago

This is probably why rabbits have been getting abnormally bold in my yard lately...

burlesona 7y ago
Yeah there are suddenly a lot of rabbits around me too. I suspect it’s the great decrease in cars running them over.
- wtvanhest 7y ago
  It is probably because you are home instead of the office in springtime.
outworlder 7y ago
You are lucky. Now I got Raccoons and Skunks. Where there were none before.

OscarCunningham 7y ago

'Bear population makes itself four times more vulnerable to the return of humans.'

dang 7y ago

If you say that the population of a city has doubled, it mostly means that people moved there, not that they were born there. The headline is fine. All: Obviously the bears weren't born in the last month. Please assume basic intelligence in your fellow readers. Edit: Ok you guys, I surrender. There is no fighting the dreaded title fever. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=%22title%20fever%22&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu....

wtvanhest 7y ago
I respectfully disagree. Yosemite is massive, and the population of bears simply did not quadruple or migrate from other areas 4x. After a few seconds of thinking about it, it’s obvious that 4x the bears were not born there, but it’s just interesting enough to get a click, to find out what the headline really means, and therefore is a type of clickbait.
TheRealPomax 7y ago
The population of a city is based on humans, which take 15 to 20 years before they have young. Wildlife typically takes "some crazy short period of time" like a year, and so when we say the population has double, tripled, etc. most people will (reasonably) understand that to mean that's because of reproduction, not because of migration. So if the cause is migration, the headline kind of needs that, as we're talking about wildlife and not human settlements.
- baddox 7y ago
  > most people will (reasonably) understand that to mean that's because of reproduction Subjective claims are fine, maybe you misunderstood the headline (although by definition anyone complaining about the wording actually didn't misunderstand it). But that's an empirical claim that could be tested. And my suspicions are that almost no one in the target audience would think for one second that the bears have reproduced enough in less than one year to quadruple in population.
bobbydroptables 7y ago

Florin_Andrei 7y ago

They define "population" as the number of bears living in that area. That could easily quadruple if bears move there from surrounding areas, which is to be expected if humans are out of the equation. This is no different from the human population of cities - it goes up or down not just due to births and deaths, but also due to individuals moving in or out.

djrogers 7y ago
Yosemite Nat'l Park is 1,187 square miles. There is no way that enough bears have migrated into the park to have quadrupled it's population from surrounding areas. The title references a quote regarding bear sightings in the tiny part of the valley that is normally populated with people. It's not only an inaccurate title, it's doubly misleading...
nogabebop23 7y ago
I don't think we'd accept population estimates for our cities as "anecdotal observation from random hotel employee" either though.
- Florin_Andrei 7y ago
  Right, so the accuracy of that observation is a separate problem.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]

undersuit 7y ago

The wildlife is trying to enter all the time. This isn't sudden, like you said the population hasn't quadrupled in this time, the wildlife tens of miles outside the populated areas aren't suddenly aware of the reduced tourist population these last few weeks. This is just the natural response of the local ecosystem from having reduced numbers of competitors for resources.

eyegor 7y ago

In Yosemite specifically, the bears and bobcats have been trying to push into the built up areas of the park forever. Of course this used to be because the human area was guaranteed food but now it's probably just curiosity. In Yosemite, the rangers are very good about not killing/injuring the wildlife and only driving them away. The typical ranger response is either paintball guns or pepper spray so the animals don't think humans are a threat, just that the food is not worth paintballs and pepper spray. With no humans to push them back, they'll take over the park scouring for the food that they expect to find. Most national parks operate on a strike system for the wildlife, Yosemite is the only one I'm aware of that will keep annoying a bear away even if it steals food every day for a week.

jelliclesfarm 7y ago
I live in the Bay Area. Since SIP, I have had bobcats, wild turkeys, deer, fox, coyotes all come by curious and interested. We have always had seasonal jack rabbits, possums and raccoons...plus the resident raptors and snakes. The other wild life is not rare either but the sightings are increased. I appreciate every sighting. Not complaining. If they are going to venture in an urban setting like my Bay Area city, I can only imagine how it must be to test the boundaries unabused at Yosemite.