The question of whether a bear can open a door is a common concern in bear country. This article explores the physical and cognitive attributes that allow bears to interact with their surroundings, their success with different door types, and their motivations.
Bear Capabilities
Bears possess physical attributes and cognitive abilities that allow them to interact with their environment. While their paws lack opposable thumbs, they are versatile, capable of grasping or scooping objects. Their robust, non-retractable claws serve for digging, climbing, and manipulating various objects.
The strength of a bear is substantial, particularly in species like grizzlies, which have a distinctive shoulder hump composed of powerful muscles facilitating their digging prowess. A grizzly’s forearm strike can deliver forces exceeding 1,200 pounds per square inch, and a polar bear’s swipe can generate approximately 1,850 pounds of force. This immense power allows them to lift objects weighing up to their own body weight, with grizzlies capable of moving items up to 1,000 pounds, and to break apart frozen carcasses.
Bears also exhibit problem-solving intelligence. They can solve complex tasks, such as opening latched puzzle boxes, often employing trial-and-error learning. Some bears even demonstrate an ability to associate a latch’s function with gaining access to a reward, showing resourcefulness in manipulating their surroundings.
Door Mechanisms and Bear Success
Bears have varying success with different door mechanisms, leveraging their physical abilities and problem-solving skills. Lever-style handles are susceptible to bear manipulation. Bears use paws or mouths to depress these, gaining entry into vehicles with food scents. Instances of bears opening multiple car doors or even closing them behind themselves have been documented, especially in high-activity areas.
Sliding glass doors can also be opened by bears if they are unlocked, partially ajar, or have flimsy latches. They might paw at the handle or push against the door until it gives way, sometimes even forcing it open. This behavior occurs when bears are attracted by smells from inside a residence, leading to home entries.
Traditional round doorknobs are generally more difficult for bears to operate due to their lack of opposable thumbs and the rotational force required. However, some bears have learned to manipulate these by gripping them with their mouths, demonstrating an adaptation to human-designed barriers. While less common than successful attempts on lever handles, these incidents highlight the bears’ capacity for learning and persistence.
A bear’s success in opening any door is influenced by past experiences; a single successful entry reinforces the behavior and leads to repeated attempts. Bears can also open simpler latch mechanisms, especially those found on sheds, gates, or older doors not designed to be bear-resistant. Their strength and investigative nature allow them to pry, push, or otherwise disengage these latches.
Why Bears Try and How to Prevent It
Bears are primarily motivated to attempt opening doors by their powerful sense of smell, which leads them to food and other attractants. They seek calorie-rich human foods, often easier to obtain than natural foraging options. Once a bear discovers a food reward, it will return to that location, learning through trial and error how to access it.
This process, known as food conditioning, can quickly erode a bear’s natural wariness of humans. Repeated access to unsecured attractants reinforces this behavior. This can lead to property damage and a bear becoming a nuisance that wildlife officials may need to manage.
Preventing bears from attempting to open doors begins with eliminating attractants around homes and vehicles. All garbage should be stored in bear-resistant containers or secured inside a sturdy building like a garage or shed until collection day. Cleaning barbecue grills thoroughly after each use and removing bird feeders during active bear seasons also helps remove tempting food sources.
Securing your home involves closing and locking all windows and doors, especially at night or when away, as common window screens offer no barrier. Replacing lever-style door handles with traditional round doorknobs can make entry more challenging, and adding heavy-duty deadbolts enhances security. In areas with persistent bear activity, electric fencing around vulnerable areas like gardens or beehives can provide an effective deterrent, delivering a harmless shock that teaches bears to avoid the area.