Black Bear (Ursus americanus)
Black bears are the smallest of three species of bears in North America. Approximately 500,000 acres of land have been designated bear sanctuary by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. These areas permit bear populations to thrive. Bear populations are stable or increasing in most areas of North Carolina.
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The U.S. House has unanimously passed a bill that would allow a bigger herd of free-roaming Corolla horses in Currituck County in an effort to create more genetic diversity in the herd. 
Kneeling in 6 inches of muddy water in Dick's Bay behind Masonboro Island, Ted Wilgis hoisted a large clump of Eastern oysters in one rubber-gloved hand. 
The men arrived toting crocks of wild boar gravy, trays of deer quesadilla and plastic tubs of kangaroo meat. 
A pack of pickups parked along a puddle-dappled farm road in Duplin County, soybeans and corn in long-picked fields nearby giving way to planted crops of winter wheat or volunteer grasses and wild onions. 
Alison Morton, a senior at Leesville Road High School, has hunted by herself for three years, but said she had never experienced anything like the 12-point buck she killed the weekend after Thanksgiving. Keep up with the latest sports stories with our free e-mail newsletters, delivered to your inbox!
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