Lawd, there was a 400 pound bear in my neck of the woods:

[Are_grits_groceries]

Police, DNR officers capture bear in Florence
FLORENCE, S.C. — A well-traveled black bear that has been spotted in the past week by numerous observers from Coward to Florence was captured and released into a safer habitat Thursday night by Florence police and Department of Natural Resources officers in Florence.

The 400-plus pound male bear was seen Thursday near Sonic on South Irby Street, and it went into the woods close to some nearby railroad tracks, according to Maj. Carlos Raines with the Florence Police Department. DNR officials were able tranquilize it at Sonic, and it was captured near First Citizens Bank, where it napped, Lt. Joe Ard with SCDNR Law Enforcement.

The bear was examined and eventually released into a 28,000-acre DNR-owned area in Marion County. Officers sat with the bear until it woke and watched it wander into the woods. The bear was the object of phone calls for about a week as he worked his way north through Coward and Effingham before reaching the Florence location, according to Ard.

The bear was considered to be an old bear based on how worn his teeth were when observed by DNR officers. Adult bears weigh between 350 and 400 pounds, and this bear was considered very big, Ard said. Adult male bears have about a 30- to 35-mile range when they travel. Ard said bears are moving inland as Horry and Georgetown counties develop and people take bear habitat, and it is early in bear mating season.

“If they smell food, bears are an opportunist,” Ard said. “It’s an overgrown raccoon.”
http://m.scnow.com/mobile/article_568e331e-d4f7-11e2-9a72-0019bb30f31a.html

I'm not surprised about a bear because they have been around forever.
However, having one wander around in this area is a new and 'exciting' development.

And let me just say, if we are going to be inundated with critters from Horry and Georgetown counties, there is no telling what we will see.

At least DNR treated it right.

[Aerows]

1. Holy crap

The last thing I want lurking nearby is a 400 lbs. bear LOL.

[Rex]

14. Dam he's got me by 100 pounds.

That's it, slap fight behind the Sonic next to the dumpster! I think I'm going to lose this one.

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. a big black bear was spotted about 5 miles from where I live the other day as well!

http://www.wral.com/bear-spotted-in-north-raleigh-/12532854/

We biked this morning near the sighting spot but no sign of him/her.

[Floyd_Gondolli]

3. Had one of those sneak up on me at Rocky Mountain NP

IN 2011. Five miles from the trailhead and miles away from anyone else. It was an "interesting" encounter. My adrenal glands exploded.

[NightWatcher]

4. Had a baby bear run through our campsite once

We all were surprised but said Ah. Two seconds later momma bear came running after. That sent us scrambling. A most uneasy nights sleep followed. We woke every time a twig snapped or raccoon farted.

[pinto]

8. Had a bear "snuffle" our tent once, camping up in Maine. Yet heeded the park advice -

No food in the tent or on the ground outside. All food hung in a closed cooler from a tree limb, midway between the limb and the ground.
The bear moved on, thankfully.

[Are_grits_groceries]

11. This bear was apparently waiting

on Sonic to open the snuffle-thru.

[loli phabay]

5. common sight here, especially once the fruits start.

[SoCalDem]

6. So glad they did not kill him..

You are clever one for evading his notice all this time

[Are_grits_groceries]

10. He might have been evading me.

I'm just glad that the local yahoos didn't get him.

[SoCalDem]

12. Amen..

It always irritates me to no end when I accidentally land on one of those fishing shows where they hold up some HUGE fish.. an OLD fish who probably would not even taste good.. a fish who managed to survive everything nature threw at him(her) and then haul it into a boat & kill it..

[Are_grits_groceries]

16. That pisses me off.

There are some good shows that use catch and release.

[pinto]

7. 28,000 acres = ~ 43 square miles. Hope he retains some natural feeding skills in his new area.

Sounds like DNR has given him the best shot at it.

[MFM008]

9. I called

animal control for some reason and he told me there was a bear recently strolling in the area-
Up in WA this is not surprising. We get whole deer familys trotting along the road. Even in a 3 story apartment i opened the door and there was 4 baby raccoons outside gnoshing the cats food....A guy keeps chickens across the street..
We are on the border of Ft Lewis/McChord bases and there is a LOT of land set aside.

[koiwoman53]

13. It's only going to get worse

The problem is that their habitat is being destroyed daily by all the development coming out of Myrtle Beach and Georgetown. They really have no place to live anymore. And this being South Carolina, there is very little being done to encourage green zones or sanctuaries for wildlife. I'm really surprised that he wasn't blasted by some Billy Joe Wayne Bob. Everybody around here is armed to the teeth with a weapon of some sort.

[Are_grits_groceries]

15. There is a fair amount of wooded areas around,

Last edited Fri Jun 14, 2013, 05:30 PM - Edit history (1)

but it's not protected. I don't want their feral pigs heading here.
There will be a hot mess with pigs and humans probably being shot. Maybe more of the latter.

[bluedigger]

17. Last summer they caught one on the street a block over from me.

I wondered what the dog was barking about the night before. I guess she wanted to go to the pic-i-nic with it.

[madinmaryland]

18. That's a hell of a lot of beer!!

Oops! Nevermind!