2 backyard Bear questions

1. nowadays, are bears in backyards as common as deer were 30 years ago?

i just watched several videos with "backyard bears" on porches, in swimming pools, etc.
i am old enough to remember when deer were rare, and then became common.

2. in your opinion, will bears (in NC/SC only) eventually be common in a "generic" backyard?

I don't think they will be AS common based on sheer numbers. There are a LOT more deer. But, as development encroaches on habitat, there will be more sightings, partially due to pushing them out of their habitat and partially because some of the new developments are IN their habitats.

Cameras are more prevalent

Posting to YouTube is easier than ever

Bear are deemed worthy of YouTube, deer are not.

That all adds up to a perception of more bears in backyards.

Also not as many hunters anymore, so more survive to breed.

I would love to hunt bear, but no idea how/where/etc.

A black bear hunt in Maine is on my bucket list, ideally with one of my .41Mags. Mama wants a rug & I want sausage, chili meat & jerky.

I ain’t to worried about the bears around here, I watched enough episodes of Grizzly Adams that I consider myself an expert on them. Now these panthers running around, they gotta go....

Crazy Carl said:

I would love to hunt bear, but no idea how/where/etc.

A black bear hunt in Maine is on my bucket list, ideally with one of my .41Mags. Mama wants a rug & I want sausage, chili meat & jerky.

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No need to go to Maine. Either end of nc or sc has plenty of bears. If you go west, let me know. I can point you in a couple decent spots.

Crazy Carl said:

I would love to hunt bear, but no idea how/where/etc.

A black bear hunt in Maine is on my bucket list, ideally with one of my .41Mags. Mama wants a rug & I want sausage, chili meat & jerky.

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Go to the eastern part of the state. They get a lot bigger down there than up this way. Lots bigger

There was a woman in WV a few weeks ago that jumped on a bear that was in her backyard to try to save her dog. The dog of course died and she is still in the hospital.

Cowboy said:

There was a woman in WV a few weeks ago that jumped on a bear that was in her backyard to try to save her dog. The dog of course died and she is still in the hospital.

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Of course it happened in West “By God” Virginia. It it happened here or anywhere else they would be drug tested for meth. But hell no, that’s normal in WV.

Come to Highlands, NC.....

The town "protects" them. They have NO fear of people. Add that to a ton of "part timers". Means they get their way...

The bears know homes mean trash, trash means tasty treats. No one can kill one that gets too close.

The result is I have scratches on my truck from where one was in my bed. I came out to get a tool. He jumped out and scared me, I cussed his big ass. He ambled away. He wasn't a bit concerned....

Not even a year ago I watched a Hispanic sub (not with our crew), yelling throwing things, going all out. To get one out of their truck. That dude ended up kicking the bear in the face before it decided greener pastures were a block away....

Try to give a wild animal what it wants....
Try to justify its learned behaviors.....
Try to explain why it does wild animal shit......

Bear populations are much better than they were 30 years ago. I hope they get even better!

BlackGun said:

Of course it happened in West “By God” Virginia. It it happened here or anywhere else they would be drug tested for meth. But hell no, that’s normal in WV.

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Meth or a woman stupid enough to jump on a bear?

Cowboy said:

Meth or a woman stupid enough to jump on a bear?

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That would be bear jumper. Western North Carolina is the meth area.

BlackGun said:

That would be bear jumper. Western North Carolina is the meth area.

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About ten years ago my buddy was on a federal drug task force in WV. I told him that there had been a meth lab bust down here and that we had 26 in the state for 2008 or so. He laughed and said that just his task force had take down 426 meth labs in the same time period. Then they moved to opioids and pill mills.

That backyard bear might take and save you a later meal... slowly


The emaciated man from Russia’s remote Republic of Tuva was preserved as ‘tin-can’ food to eat later by a brown bear, say local reports in the region.

A group of local hunters found Alexander after their dogs refused to leave the area of the den.

Their persistent barking pushed the hunters to check inside the lair, where they found a barely-alive man. He was rushed to the local hospital and has been diagnosed with a broken spine and severe emaciation.

Alexander remembers his first name but not his age, and was reportedly in the den for around one month, drinking urine to survive.

He is now in the intenstive care with multiple injuries and rotting skin.

He can move his arms, local hospital doctors said.
http://siberiantimes.com/other/othe...s-his-spine-and-keeps-him-as-food-inside-den/
The comments are lively.

Crazy Carl said:

I would love to hunt bear, but no idea how/where/etc.

A black bear hunt in Maine is on my bucket list, ideally with one of my .41Mags. Mama wants a rug & I want sausage, chili meat & jerky.

Click to expand...

Eastern NC is known to produce some of the largest black bears in the world, largely due to the abundance of food.

Burt Gummer said:

Go to the eastern part of the state. They get a lot bigger down there than up this way. Lots bigger

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A friend of mine bear hunts..... this is one his group killed this past yr close to Elizabeth City.

Bears are not pets, do not treat them as cuddly little friends.
They will get braver and bolder. In Highlands as @Trevillian was saying bears are losing their fear of humans since they are not hunted in that area.
Go into wilderness areas and bears will do anything they can to avoid humans, but in suburbia they are no longer afraid to do as they please.