Black bear sighted in Spartanburg Co. neighborhood

BOILING SPRINGS, S.C. (WSPA) – Noddy Woods has lived in Spartanburg County for more than four decades and he had never seen a bear in-person until one showed up behind his house on Monday.

“You know, I was a little bit nervous of him because like I said, he was probably [three feet] standing on all fours, so I know if he stood up, he’d be taller than me,” said Woods as he pointed to some train tracks behind his house where he spotted the bear.

Woods said his dog was barking non-stop as he and the black bear locked eyes for what he believes was several seconds. He had his gun in his hand and told 7NEWS he was willing to shoot the bear if it came down to it, but he didn’t want to shoot it.

“I’m not messing with no bear,” said Woods. “I’m a big ‘ole boy and I like nature and stuff, but I’m not messing with no bear.”

According to South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Public Information Officer Greg Lucas, April is the time of year that black bears in the Upstate are waking up from hibernation.

“There’s not a lot of natural food around for them to eat, so they’re roaming,” said Lucas.

According to Lucas, black bears in the Upstate tend to eat berries like blackberries and blueberries, which are not yet ripe for picking. This means they’ll munch on the next most appetizing meal that is easily accessible.

“One of those are bird feeders,” said Lucas. Birdfeed, feed for farm animals and pets, as well as unsecure trash from garbage bins are several things humans leave out that attract omnivores according to Lucas.

The way to stop them, he said, is to work together with neighbors to agree to not put out feed for about a week and to secure trash containing foods inside.

“If they don’t have any food sources, they will leave the area pretty quickly,” said Lucas.

But for Woods, who has a wife, a daughter and two dogs, it’s not when the black bear leaves that concerns him, it’s where it’ll go.

“The reason I’m so concerned is from the way [the bear] came,” said Woods. “It came down from the Powder Mill area, and you’ve got Spartanburg Methodist College kids and then on down the road a little bit you’ve got an elementary school that actually butts up to a bunch of woods.”

According to Bearwise.or g : “Never run from a bear. Don’t approach a bear – just quietly move away and leave the area.”

Lucas warns people to stay away from bears, but adds if a black bear spots you first, then make yourself look big and tall, make lots of noise, and try to scare it away.

“You know, people and bears are kind of the same. They’ll both turn running in the opposite direction,” said Lucas.

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