Aug 12, 2016

Photos and text by Jerry Jackson/ Baltimore Sun

: A black bear crosses Wildlife Drive at dusk at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)

: A black bear sow stands with her two cubs along Milltail Road at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, located a few miles inland of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is home to one of the east coast’s largest concentrations of black bears. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)

: A pair of black bears are seen at the edge of a corn field at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, located a few miles inland of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is home to one of the east coast’s largest concentrations of black bears. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)

: A black bear sow stands at the entrance of Wildlife Drive at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, located a few miles inland of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is home to one of the east coast’s largest concentrations of black bears. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)

: A black bear stands to peer over vegetation along Wildlife Drive at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, located a few miles inland of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is home to one of the east coast’s largest concentrations of black bears. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)

: Sightseers try to capture images of a bear crossing the road in front of them at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, located a few miles inland of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is home to one of the east coast’s largest concentrations of black bears. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)

: A black bear boar with visible battle scars is seen along Wildlife Drive The refuge, located a few miles inland of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is home to one of the east coast’s largest concentrations of black bears. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)

: A black bear walks along Wildlife Drive after crossing a drainage ditch at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, located a few miles inland of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is home to one of the east coast’s largest concentrations of black bears. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)

: A black bear sow stands with her two cubs along Milltail Road at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, located a few miles inland of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is home to one of the east coast’s largest concentrations of black bears. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)

: A black bear sow stands on her hind legs while keeping an eye on another bear at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, located a few miles inland of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is home to one of the east coast’s largest concentrations of black bears. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)

: Sightseers stop along Wildlife Drive at sunset to capture images of a bear in a field at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, located a few miles inland of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is home to one of the east coast’s largest concentrations of black bears. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)

: A black bear sow stands along the edge of Wildlife Drive at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, located a few miles inland of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is home to one of the east coast’s largest concentrations of black bears. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)

: A black bear stands in a corn field along Milltail Road at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, located a few miles inland of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is home to one of the east coast’s largest concentrations of black bears. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)

: A black bear sow walks with her two cubs along Milltail Road at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge, located a few miles inland of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is home to one of the east coast’s largest concentrations of black bears. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)

A few miles inland of the strip malls and beach cottages that make up North Carolina’s Outer Banks is an area almost as intriguing as that of the Lost Colony on nearby Roanoke Island. Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, a swampy, no-man’s land, boasts one of the largest concentrations of black bears on the East coast.

The refuge is home to the endangered red wolf and even American alligators but the bears are easiest to find. Driving along Sawyer Lake Road in late afternoon or early morning, visitors can often see bears as they cross the road – headed from the thick, swampy forest to feed in the corn fields. With drainage ditches on both sides of the gravel road, a wet set of tracks is a good indicator that a bear is nearby.

On a recent summer evening, we saw a dozen bears in the hour before sunset and even more the next morning. A pair of binoculars or telephoto lens, useful for spotting bears along the edges of distant fields, will also keep you from getting too close to a momma bear and her cubs.

The Bears of OBX

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