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Black Bears In Eastern North Carolina

NC Wildlife Resources Commission

Black bears are thriving in eastern North Carolina, 20,000 strong in the state.  We talk to wildlife officials about where bears are plentiful and why they’re growing bigger in the eastern part of the state.

It’s a striking statistic.   Over the past 30 years, black bear populations in North Carolina have increased tenfold. Today, the population is estimated to be 20,000.  Not only are bears growing in density, a recent article by the Virginian Pilot of Norfolk Virginia put forth the idea that black bears in North Carolina are getting bigger thanks to abundant food that allows them to skip hibernating.  However, when I spoke to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s black bear and furbearer biologist Colleen Olfenbuttel Friday morning, she says that’s not altogether true, according to bear weight data collected over the past 12 years. 

 “We weigh hundreds of bears in the mountains and in the coast.  That data shows overall the bear weight in coastal North Carolina have remained stable. 

Olfenbuttle says wildlife officials have identified a few larger bears being harvested in the eastern part of the state.

 “We have noticed over the past four to five years where maybe we might get a bear that weighs 700lbs or more harvested every three to five years.  Now, we’ve seen not only bears over 700lbs being harvested every year, but for the past three years, we’ve had a bear harvested that was 780lbs or more.”

Most of the large black bears were taken from the Albemarle Peninsula where there’s abundant food sources and protected areas like Pocosin Lakes and Alligator National Wildlife Refuges, where hunting bears is not permitted.  Those could be reasons why these particular bears are larger.  But Oflenbuttel says it’s too soon to say definitively whether bears, as a whole, are actually growing bigger.

 “But hopefully, over the next year or two, we can get a better understanding of the why and see if it is something about a unique situation in that portion of North Carolina that we are seeing these larger bears.  And maybe it is reflecting, at least in that area reflecting some bears getting larger.”

There is data to show that black bears grow bigger in eastern North Carolina, compared to bears from the mountains which can grow to be about 600lbs.   The current world record black bear, from Craven County was bagged in 1998 and weighed 880 lbs.  This year, a man from Hyde County harvested the second largest black bear in North Carolina records, weighing in at 782 lbs.  Wildlife Resources Commission Wildlife Biologist Mike Carraway says agricultural lands provide a reliable and plentiful source of food, allowing bears in eastern North Carolina to grow larger.

 “When farmers plant things like corn and peanuts, things that bears like to eat, then it provides a much bigger food source and bears tend to get bigger when they eat things like that.”

He says another reason why bears are bigger in eastern North Carolina is because we have a longer growing season.

“Up here in the mountains, it gets colder sooner and stays colder longer towards the end of winter so bears down on the coast have more time, when they’re not denning, to eat and presumably get bigger.”

Since bears have more to eat and more time to graze and forage, wildlife officials are noting the effect on hibernation, with fewer bears hunkering down for the winter. 

 “Bears have adapted with hibernation strategy because typically there aren’t many natural food sources available in the winter months so bears tend to sleep in times of the year where there’s no food available.”

Carroway says black bear reproduction patterns are also evolving.  Not only does access to an abundance of food means bigger bears, it means more offspring.

 “Healthier bears produce more cubs than unhealthy bears.  So I know here in the mountains, we have seen quite a bit of evidence that females that have had three, and four and even five cubs.”

Back in 1971, the state created 28 bear sanctuaries, encompassing nearly 800,000 acres in North Carolina, most of them in eastern North Carolina.  Black bear biologist Colleen Olfenbuttel says the current population increase stems from a planned effort on the part of Wildlife Resource Commission three decades ago.

 “We created designated bear sanctuaries; that allowed those bears to reproduce, those populations to grow, and then the surplus bears would leave the sanctuaries and repopulate the surrounding area.”

Today, most of the bear sanctuaries are located in the mountains, and 10 remain in eastern North Carolina, including Suggs Mill Pond Bear Sanctuary located in Bladen County, Croatan Bear Sanctuary in Carteret, Craven and Jones counties, and Gum Swamp Bear Sanctuary in Pamlico and Beaufort Counties.   These areas are off-limits to hunting. Most sanctuaries are located on federally or state protected areas with habitat management objectives, ensuring a beneficial environment for black bears.  Now that their numbers have returned to a healthy level, the Wildlife Resources Commission is hoping to sustain that growth.

“We feel like we’ve successfully restored bear populations in eastern North Carolina from historic lows, which occurred during especially during the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s.  And so now that we’ve restored the populations, the management goal for that population is to stabilize it, basically try to have it where we have a sustainable harvest in eastern North Carolina, and also a stable bear population.”

In most cases, that means loosening regulations on bear hunting, which is considered to be the best way to control their populations.  New regulations went into effect during the first week of bear hunting season, November 10th to the 15th that allowed hunters to bait bear.  Wildlife Officer Sergeant William Cane says hunters could use only non-processed foods, like peaches, apples, and meat scraps.  The second week of bear season starts Monday and will run through Christmas Day.  Bear baiting during this time is not permitted.   The new law also prohibits baiting bear in sanctuaries. Perhaps the biggest change for this year’s hunting season is that hunters are now required to purchase a $10 bear e-stamp. 

“Right now, we don’t know how many people are actually hunting bear.  Because prior to this year, unless you were coming from out of state, you had to buy a special license to hunt bear. This year, everyone is going to have to buy the e-stamp and that just gives us an actual number of people that are bear hunting.”

Cane says this season is the first time bear hunting is allowed in the Piedmont region.

“and the reason for that was that the bears population is expanding into areas where normally bears didn’t live, so we’re trying to manage those bears and trying to keep them in the areas that is their original habitat.”

A safer way to see the black bears in their natural environment is during an eastern North Carolina bear watching tour.  The Friends of Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge occasionally hold bear tours throughout the year, but mostly in the spring and summer months.  For more information and to see pictures from their black bear tours, go to pocosinlakesfriends.org.

Jared Brumbaugh is the Assistant General Manager for Public Radio East. An Eastern North Carolina native, Jared began his professional public radio career at Public Radio East while he was a student at Craven Community College earning his degree in Electronics Engineering Technology. During his 15+ years at Public Radio East, he has served as an award-winning journalist, producer, and on-air host. When not at the station, Jared enjoys hiking, traveling, and honing his culinary skills.