CU and DNR counting Black Bears

Researchers at Clemson University and the SC Department of Natural Resources have completed fieldwork on a project that will yield important new information on the population of black bears in the South Carolina mountains. The objective is to estimate the black bear population in the Mountain Hunt Unit located in northern Oconee, Pickens and Greenville counties using DNA analysis and to use the information to improve bear management in the Upstate. The data was collected June through August of this year. Last June, about 115 sampling sites were established in the three counties. About 350 hair samples are now being analyzed at a genetics lab in Canada.