North Carolina’s black
bears are BIG--and getting BIGGER! The last two world record black
bears, by weight, have come from North Carolina, including the
current world record 880 pound black bear from the Coastal Plain.
The 780 pound bear on display at Bear-Ology was the 2nd largest bear
in North Carolina at the time it was harvested in Plymouth in 2012.
Since that time bigger bears have been harvested here in the eastern
part of the state.
There is a simple explanation: Coastal North Carolina is the
breadbasket of the state. There are huge farms producing a variety
of crops: corn, soy beans, wheat, oats, peanuts, sweet potatoes, and
watermelons, most of which bears love to eat. Almost every acre that
can be cultivated is in production, with the exception of tree farms
growing timber for sawmills and the paper industry. The balance of
the rural landscape is swamp. The bottom line is that bears live in
the forests and swamps that border their restaurants: farm fields
producing high protein crops. With the mild winters, eastern North
Carolina bears feed more months of the year than northern bears. As
a result they grow bigger in North Carolina than anywhere else.
Bear Facts
- Coastal NC has the
world’s largest black bears.
- The Albemarle/Pamlico
Peninsula has the highest black bear densities in
the world.
- There is an average of
4 bears per square mile here.
- The current world
record black bear is from Eastern NC and weighed 880
lbs.
- There are bears over
880 lbs still walking around Eastern NC today.
- Black bears have a
prey mentality instead of a predator mentality.>
- Bears don’t stand up
to intimidate you. It is for a better view and to
get a better scent.
- Black bears are found
in 35 states.
- Bear-Ology Black Bear
Museum is in Plymouth, NC.
- Plymouth is “base
camp” for the best public bear viewing in NC