Watch Yosemite bears go to town on visitors' food. Now these encounters are rare

In 1998, Yosemite National Park recorded nearly 1,600 bear-related incidents. And there were probably hundreds more they didn't hear about, park officials said in a Facebook post.

In June of that year alone, the park received 100 reports. They included a bear breaking into a minivan for chips and watermelon, a woman injured by a bear when it startled her in Housekeeping Camp, and a bear ripping into a tent cabin to obtain an ice chest full of food.

At one point, a ranger was taking a report from campers at Camp 4 regarding a bear stealing food. At the same time, the bear was trying to break into another car in the parking lot.

Since 1998, which was the high water mark for bear-related events, such reports have dropped to fewer than 50 per year.

The park credits changes in behavior among its two-legged guests and staff, including better training and food storage.

The bears are still in the park, of course. One visitor wondered if they have moved away because so many people come to Yosemite. That's not the case, rangers said in a comment on their post.

"Black bears naturally avoid people. However, if they spend a lot of time around people, they'll lose that natural fear, and even more so if they're also getting food from people/developed areas. So, bears have mostly reverted to natural behavior, getting natural food, so they're not as visible as they once were."

This story was originally published June 28, 2018 at 10:04 AM.