Columbia County authorities reported a black bear sighting between Grovetown and Appling this morning.
Emergency Services Director Pam Tucker said the animal was spotted by a county employee on her way to work.
"As she drove down Baker Place Road from Wrightsboro Road, she spotted a black bear in a big field in the area just before I-20 crosses Baker Place Road," Mrs. Tucker said.
The employee pulled her car off to the roadside to watch the bear, which soon crossed the highway in front of her.
Mrs. Tucker noted that a bear was seen Monday near Savannah Lakes Village on the McCormick County, S.C., side of Thurmond Lake.
"We are unsure if this is the same bear that was spotted a few days ago at Savannah Lakes, but we do know that bears can travel great distances fairly quickly," she said.
Though bears typically remain in the northern and coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina, young males often wander during the spring and early summer in search of new areas in which to live and seek mates.
Such jaunts often lead them into very populated - even urban - areas, said Adam Hammond, a wildlife biologist with Georgia's Wildlife Resources Division.
"If a black bear is sighted passing through an area, the best thing to do is to leave it alone," he said. "Residents should never approach a bear and never, under any circumstances, feed a bear. Even worse, attempting to 'tree' or corner a bear in a certain area often compromises both the safety and welfare of the public and the bear."
Adult males typically force younger males out of
familiar territory. If left alone, these "transient" bears usually make their way back to more traditional bear areas: the north Georgia mountains, the Ocmulgee River drainage system in central Georgia, and the Okefenokee Swamp in the southeastern part of the state.
Mrs. Tucker said anyone seeing the bear should immediately notify the Department of Natural Resources' Thomson office at (706) 667-4672; or dial the county's 311 help line and a county official will notify DNR.
In June 2008 a wandering bear made its way to Augusta, where it was tranquilized by wildlife authorities after it climbed a tree at a children's camp on Mike Padgett Highway. The bear was traced to Florida, where it had been captured and moved to a wilderness region near Tallahassee.
After its capture in Augusta, it was taken to U.S. Forest Service land near Helen, Ga. It later ended up in Alabama, where it was shot and killed by police who said at the time they did not have access to a tranquilizer gun.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2010 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Awesome! I will have my camera on me. I hope to se it soon.
Baker Place Road at Wrightsboro is fairly close to the Ranger Station of the Forestry Unit...maybe Ol' Smokey was just going to work!
Relocate Mr. Bear to the Georgia Golf Hall of Shame.
Watch out for your picanic baskets.
maybe this would not be a problem if people would quit encroaching upon animal habitats. They are all going to be extinct if people don't quit hogging the land.
Neighborhoods in our area are full of rabbits and such because anywhere there is a tree, columbia county is going to cut it down and build a shopping center that will be vacant in about a year. Animals are soon going to have nowhere to live because there will only be empty shopping centers everywhere.
crappy strip malls.
It's the hogs that are the real worry in Grovetown area, they are following the water through wooded areas up there and reproducing like mad. I heard that the bear was off of Wrightsboro Road, headed for Grovetown when it was seen by a motorist, earlier this morning. Guess I should let my relatives out there know.
maybe he'll eat some of these doggone armadillos. they're everywhere.
hey bubu! where's my pick-a-nic basket!?
Gee, Yogi!
Not clearcutting neighborhoods is a great start. The counties buying "green space" is good, too. Take a look at Bluffton, SC and Hilton Head Island, SC to see how to do it. Or just some of the older neighborhoods in Augusta, like Brynwood, to see how you manage to put a house on a lot without clearcutting. As for the bear, just don't leave garbage or any perceived food source out and you'll be fine. :)
Someone is bound to spot Boo-Boo soon!
This is a protest Bear he is tired of all of us humans destroying his habitat with global warming. Nah it tain't even a bear. It is Big Foot. Call Monster Quest for an interview. hee,hee,hee. The Bear's mantra is stop man-made global warming-EAT more people. LOL.
Maybe this bear lives in North Georgia and he knows hunters travel up there every year to hunt bear. Having tired of this annual game of cat and mouse, he decided to bring the hunt to the hunter, on his own turf. A note of consolation. Lone male bears only kill people with half the frequency of female bears with cubs. So if it's a male bear, your odds of survival just doubled. Further note, banging trash can lids IS NOT a deterrent to bears, as they forage trash cans frequently and are not afraid of that sound. Finally, IF you encounter a bear, DO NOT ATTEMPT to run from it, a bear can mosey faster than most humans can run, and Black Bears can climb trees faster than a hummingbird can fly.
The next step for the bear is to put on the whole armour of God like David did when he KILLED GOLIATH. If you see the bear, (as most people are worst than the bear) call on God and he will set you and the bear free because it seems obvious that neither of you have faith to deliver the other from trouble. Bears are similar to humans who are around you daily. Wouldn't it be nice to remove some of those GRIZZLY BEARS as well? God bless
Does bear meat taste like chicken?
No.. I love grizzly bears. Too bad they are not around here anymore