A black bear on the road leading from the Gardner, Montana entrance to Yellowstone National Park

Editor’s note: Jim Welch was the host of SCETV’s NatureScene for 20 years. In Stories of the Trail, Welch shares his knowledge of some of the animals he studied and encountered while filming NatureScene . Working with him was Allen Sharpe, producer, director, video–grapher, and editor; and Rudy Mancke, naturalist.

Nearly every day, for over 30 years, I have looked for a bear in my Lower Richland County woods.

I have discovered fox squirrels, river otters, and wild turkeys. There are deer scrapes on the ground, trees, and saplings Their tracks are all over, as well as their scat. I have startled rabbits by the dozens. I have seen raccoons, possums, and once even a bobcat. But the bear has eluded me.

The black bear population in SC, according to the latest DNR statistics, is in the 400–500 range. Since 1982, bear hunting has been legal in our state. Fifty–five bears were taken in 2003 alone, the largest weighing 253 pounds.

In the mountains and foothills of the upstate and in the forests and swamplands of the coastal plains, numbers are greatly increasing. Sightings in the Francis Marion Forest are prompting nuisance calls. In Horry County bears are being hit by traffic as they lumber across busy roadways.

In our own Midlands, bears are reported in the wooded areas of Fort Jackson and in the broad expanse of the Wateree Swamp. Tom Fowler, senior vice president for broadcasting at SCETV, had to have a bear relocated from his front yard on Trenholm Road.

On his way to work recently, Jon Rosinski of Lower Richland spotted what he at first thought was a “huge black dog” crossing Ridge Road. A closer look revealed it was a big black bear. An entire bear family, a mother and her cubs, frequented a neighborhood near Gills Creek. Black bears have also been seen passing through Congaree National Park.

In the region around Jasper National Park I have encountered dozens of bears. My favorite, face to face, bear encounter, took place at Yellowstone. I knew the black bear customarily prefers to be peaceful, to avoid conflict, and flee danger. I also knew a mother with cubs can be overly protective and any black bear’s temper is about as short as its tail. So I quickly I took a picture and eased away as the bear intermittently looked at me and gorged itself on rosehips.

I've never found a bear in my woods. Finding a bear in my woods would be, to me, like finding the Holy Grail.