Smarter Than the Average Bear

December 28, 2021 11:32 AM

Smarter than the Average Bear

What it says on the tin.

posted by y2karl (21 comments total)

safety bear!
posted by supermedusa at 11:41 AM on December 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

I think I heard her mutter as she plodded off, "I am the backbone of this operation!!"
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:47 AM on December 28, 2021 [6 favorites]

Pokey the bear says...
posted by y2karl at 11:53 AM on December 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

How beary responsible!

How do I get this bear to come to my house and help tidy up?
posted by cynical pinnacle at 11:55 AM on December 28, 2021

cynical pinnacle salmon lure? I hear bears like salmon...
posted by supermedusa at 12:09 PM on December 28, 2021

I really do want to know what's going on in the mind of the bear to motivate this behavior. Is it just that the upright position is more familiar? Why would that be a thing for a bear to concern itself with? I mean, yeah, good citizen behavior when viewed through a human contextual filter, but what's really going here?
posted by Ipsifendus at 12:36 PM on December 28, 2021 [6 favorites]

supermedusa good idea! going on a salmon run now
posted by cynical pinnacle at 12:48 PM on December 28, 2021

but what's really going here?

Follow-up question: Do bears exhibit OCD in the woods?
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:16 PM on December 28, 2021 [3 favorites]

Only you can prevent driving in the soft shoulder.
posted by Nanukthedog at 1:40 PM on December 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

That bear is more civic minded than a lot of people.
posted by Gorgik at 1:43 PM on December 28, 2021 [3 favorites]

I love this bear and would like it to be my patronus. Thank you, y2karl!
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 1:53 PM on December 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

Probably returns his shopping cart too.
posted by brachiopod at 2:36 PM on December 28, 2021 [14 favorites]

And doesn't put particle board in the recycling bins
posted by cynical pinnacle at 2:48 PM on December 28, 2021 [8 favorites]

but what's really going here?

It's route marking. Bears navigate based on landmarks. The traffic cone is normally upright and the bear is putting it back where it should be. Does the bear know what a traffic cone is? No. Does the bear know that the cone should be upright? Yes. Did the bear send in an invoice to the authorities for traffic management? $457.35
posted by fallingbadgers at 3:08 PM on December 28, 2021 [20 favorites]

I loved how the bear knew exactly how to tip the cone up on the first try, and then just continued its slow stroll.
posted by Well I never at 3:43 PM on December 28, 2021

Reminded me of the buffalo tipping the turtle over the right way.
posted by greenhornet at 4:58 PM on December 28, 2021 [3 favorites]

I think we need more data about what other bears would do in the same situation.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:12 PM on December 28, 2021

WWBD
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:34 PM on December 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

Bear Tools
posted by thecincinnatikid at 6:01 PM on December 28, 2021 [6 favorites]

This reminds me of how dogs often respond to anything out of the ordinary. For example, my dog used to notice things like a bag of cement placed in the middle of the pavement.
She would stare at the anomaly suspiciously, or even bark at it, and only relax once she'd inspected it thoroughly.
She seemed to know when things were out of place. The bag of cement would be ignored, if it was in a more normal place.
I think animals have a strong sense of what is normal in their environment, and anything out of the ordinary catches their attention as a possible threat.
Putting the cone upright might just feel better to the bear because that's how it usually is.
posted by Zumbador at 8:08 PM on December 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

I posted this on Facebook as well. My friend Paula wrote Has to be a female.
posted by y2karl at 8:11 AM on December 29, 2021 [3 favorites]