Yosemite bears learn manners

The hungry bears of Yosemite National Park are learning manners -- a more pleasant alternative than getting banished to the distant wilds or shot. The National Park Service said it knew of only 75 incidents during the past year of bears raiding the food chests of campers in the valley. Five years earlier, 875 bear- related incidents cost campers over $100,000.

For reversing the situation, rangers credited a five-year program of removing pesky bears from the valley, setting up "bearproof" food containers, and warning visitors not to feed the bears. Park officials said not one bear had to be destroyed last year.