Looking for:

How many bears are in south carolina
Click here to ENTER

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Preferred Habitat Typically, black bears require large expanses of forest dominated by a diversity of mast-producing hardwoods and shrubs intermixed with early successional vegetation such as blackberries, pokeberries, etc.

Wetlands such as swamps and bays also provide good habitat. However, black bears are adaptable. As long as they can find adequate food sources and have suitable den sites, black bears can be found in a variety of habitats.

Range Black bears can be found throughout North America. In South Carolina, there are two resident populations of black bears, one in the mountains and upper piedmont and one in the coastal plain. Home range for bears must include den sites, food, water and cover for adults and young. Typically male bear home ranges can be 18 to square miles, while home ranges for females are smaller, around square miles. A shortage of natural food sources and lack of rainfall can cause home ranges to vary greatly.

Black bears will travel large distances to find adequate food sources. In addition, juvenile bears, especially the males, must disperse to find new home territories. Dispersing juvenile bears have been sighted in many counties in South Carolina. These bears are usually transient and do not stay in the area for long.

Black bears are opportunistic and will feed on whatever is readily available. Their natural diet consists of berries, nuts and plant matter over 80 percent as well as insects and meat less than 20 percent. Bears use their incredible sense of smell to find alternative food sources such as garbage, bird feeders, outdoor pet food, agricultural crops, etc.

Black bears reach sexual maturity by 3 years of age. Peak mating season for bears is June and July. Males are territorial and will mate with as many females as they can. Young males are often driven away from their home territories by larger males during breeding season. Once the female is bred, she will turn her attention to feeding frequently and building fat reserves. Gestation is days and cubs are born in January or February while the female is hibernating.

About live in the mountains and upper Piedmont and another in the coastal plain, mostly in Horry and Georgetown counties. However, black bears have been verified in many other South Carolina counties, including Richland and Lexington. The imposing brown, or grizzly, bear can only be found in parts of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Alaska where 98 percent of the population lives.

A small population of polar bears live in remote portions of northern Alaska. By far the most widely distributed bear is the American black bear, Ursus americanus. Approximately , black bears range throughout 40 of the 50 United States. Black bears have adapted in many ways to cope with their environment. The fertilized egg actually remains in a state of dormancy until environmental conditions are favorable. Only then does it attach to the wall of the uterus.

Gestation lasts days, and litters of one to three cubs are usually born in late January to early February. Their weight can vary widely from season to season, with pre-den weights in the fall being 30 percent higher than post-den weights in the spring. Adults range from 5 to 6 feet in length and weigh anywhere from to pounds. Males can be 70 percent heavier than females. In the wild, black bears may live to about 20 years of age.

Like almost all bears, black bears are omnivorous, eating both plants and animals. Bears are known to eat a wide variety of food items, including carrion, insects, nuts, and berries. They are opportunistic feeders and will frequently seek out human activity for food sources, including garbage cans, bird feeders, and beehives.

Due to their increasing population and their propensity to seek human-related food sources, the number of nuisance bears is on the increase. Black bears are legally hunted in South Carolina. The practice is somewhat controversial, especially when bears are hunted with dogs. The hunting season, which has historically been restricted to the Upstate, is quite short, just two weeks, with one week allocated to hunting without dogs and one with.

On average, about 60 bears are killed in the Upstate each year.

 
 

 

How many bears are in south carolina. Be bear aware in South Carolina bear country, officials remind

 

For those living in the Upstate of South Carolina, bear sightings are nothing unusual. In fact, for the past two years, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has warned of an increase of bear activity throughout the state, including along the coast.

To what does the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources attribute the increase in bear sightings along the coast? The agency speculates that the fast-growth in some areas has new developments pushing bears out of their natural habitats or the developments themselves are pushing up to the boundaries of existing bear habitats.

Have you spotted a bear in South Carolina this year? You can report it here! Last spring , the state agency issued a press release about bear movements being on the rise along the coast. The warning pertained particularly to a population of bears that lives year-round in Horry, Georgetown, Berkeley, Dillion, Marion, Williamsburg, Dorchester, and Charleston Counties.

What should you do if you see a bear? Removing bird feeders, squirrel feeders, and any outdoor containers of food for pets, goats, chickens, or other livestock is essential to staving off a hungry bear.

And lastly, if you’re a bee keeper, put up a bear-proof fence around those hives. Bears and honey go together like peanut butter and jelly. South Carolina In Your Inbox spinner. Thank you! You will receive your first email soon. Love South Carolina? Get more stories delivered right to your email. Your e-mail: Sign Up. Share on Facebook Pin it on Pinterest. Robin Jarvis Follow me on:.

Her love for travel has taken her to many parts of the world. She’s lived in the Carolinas for nearly three decades and currently resides in Charleston. When she’s not working, she loves to cook with friends and check out new adventures. General questions and FAM tours: rjarvis onlyinyourstate.