In an effort to educate park visitors on bear safety, the National Park Service acknowledged the elephant in the room: Bears can eat you.
In all likelihood, a bear will not eat you. Ever. But if it did eat you, hypothetically speaking, the NPS wants you to know what kind of meal you’d be.
“It’s been said people in sleeping bags are the soft tacos of the bear world…FALSE,” the NPS posted to its official Facebook page over the weekend. “Hammocks are the soft taco of the bear world. Sleeping bags are the burrito.”
Hahahahaha — wait, what?! The NPS admitting that bears eat people (and Mexican food, apparently) is like your parents laughing that, yes, you could be kidnapped.
But maybe that’s the best way to drive the point home. The agency’s post goes on to describe the best practices for bear encounters. And it’s valuable information. Of course, bears can be dangerous; all wild animals can. But good bear etiquette can go a long way to making those encounters memorable — instead of edible.
And all joking aside, understanding bear behavior and how to avoid a dangerous situation is critical. Just in the last month, bear encounters have led to multiple injuries and even one death.
Props to the NPS for having a sense of humor along with some great advice. Do yourself a favor and review the NPS’s bear safety tips. And maybe skip the salsa just in case.