As more development happens in the Carolina Forest area, it leaves black bears displaced and makes them more visible to humans, said Kayla Brantley, the coastal bear biologist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources .
A resident shared on Nextdoor how a bear had been climbing over her fence and exploring her backyard at night, which is not an uncommon occurrence in the area. One person commented saying that the Carolina Forest area has the largest bear population in South Carolina according to the SCDNR.
The Sun News spoke to Brantley to find out if this is true. Brantley said there hasn’t been a bear population study done in the area since 2009 so it’s not known how many bears there are in the area. However, Carolina Forest does have more bears than other parts of South Carolina.
“The bulk of the coastal population is going to come from Georgetown and Horry County,” Brantley said.
Charles Ruth, the SCDNR big game program coordinator, said he doubted the coastal area has more bears than the mountains in the west.