Never feed bears. They lose their fear of people and invade your camp, picnic table or even tear open a car if they smell anything interesting. Even the smell of toothpaste! The only cure for a nuisance bear in Russia is to accept it or shoot it.
In the USA, bears are a problem in established parks. In Yosemite bears broke into 908 vehicles between 2001 and 2007. Minivans topped the field at 26 percent, followed by SUVs at 22.5 percent, small cars at 17.1 percent and sedans at 13.7 percent.
Lucky that in Russia there are not too many minivans. Minivans smell good. Minivans are more likely to carry children, who are more likely to spill food and drink. Passengers are more likely to leave food in the vehicle parked overnight.Minivans are easily accessible. The bears most often break in by popping open a rear side window.
The break-ins might also be the work of a few individuals that have learned to target minivans. Humans have been know to imitate bears and break into cars.
Never leave anything visible or smellable in your car. A bear can see a cooler or smell a soda can.
Place your food in a bear-proof container away from your camp and your car. Toss a rope over a tall limb and suspend it high in the air.
It is impossible to find campgrounds with bear-proof containers in Russia. That is why you see the bears in areas where people like to camp in numbers.
