Abstract:
Powell discusses black bear hunting in eastern North Carolina. Conservation has raised the bear population to an all-time high, with 7,000 bears in the East and around 4,000 in the West. Eastern bears are able to forage in farming areas, and this ready food supply creates large animals in the 500 to 600 pound range. The largest black bear taken weighed 880 pounds. The bear has now replaced the deer as North Carolina's big game animal.