I’m not sure why, but the other day I began to think about our good ol’ friend, Yogi Bear!

While pocking around online, I found cartoonscrapbook.com which said this about Yogi:

Yogi’s daily life consisted of searching for food in his government-protected habitat, Jellystone Park. But unlike most bears (or perhaps a little earlier than most bears), Yogi preferred sandwiches and chocolate cake over fish and berries. Yogi, being what he called “smarter than the average bear,” eschewed normal bear-type hunting techniques, such as swatting at fish, in favor of hunting for pre-made food that was found in a “pic-a-nic” basket.

Then the thought occured to me that there really wasn’t much different about Yogi.  Smarter than the average bear?  Unlike most bears?  OK, there aren’t many bears roaming around with a tie and collar but other than that and the miracle of speech, there isn’t much different.  At least when compared to the black bear of the Adirondacks, in my experience.  Like Yogi, the black bears in the Adirondacks search for food in government protected land, have a taste for human food, and are quite intelligent in their pursuit of food.

According to wikitravel.org,  “The Adirondack Park is both the largest and the first government-protected park in the contiguous United States.”  The Adirondack Mountains have long held a special place in my heart.  I love hiking and camping in the wilderness there and I love getting away from the hustle and bustle of life and escape to experience the awesome creative power of God as I take in His creation.

Over the years, the black bear of the Adirondacks has become aware of humans as a source of food.  They know that the camper/hiker has food and can smell it a long way off.  They say that a black bear won’t normally attack a human unless cornered, hurt, or hungry.  The gradual loss of the fear of humans has led to the increased boldness of the black bear to approach looking for food.  Throughout history, campers have employed many different tactics to keep their food safe.  They’ve hung it in trees, hung it between trees, and even hung it over damns, etc.  Well, through all of that, the black bear has actually been able to outsmart the camper!  They’ve figured out how to climb the trees (go figure, a bear can climb trees), knock the food off of lines, and even pull the food up from the dams!  It’s only a matter of time before they figure out the modern bear canister!

My contention is, although I’d have to admit that I don’t know why I care, that Yogi is NOT smarter than the average bear and not all that different either!

You be the judge, is there something special about Yogi Bear?  What other cartoon characters are surprisingly similar to real life?  Leave a comment!