Where the bears roam

A black bear stands to peer over vegetation along Wildlife Drive at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. (?)

This bear appears to be glaring at the camera as it walks along Wildlife Drive after crossing a drainage ditch. (?)

Two cubs peer out from behind their protective mother along Milltail Road in the North Carolina wildlife refuge. The area is located a few miles inland from the Outer Banks. (?)

Sightseers try to capture images of a bear crossing the road in front of them at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. (? )

A common sight in the refuge: A black bear crosses Wildlife Drive at dusk in front of a convoy of tourists. (? )

A sow stands at the entrance of Wildlife Drive. (?)

A few miles inland from the strip malls and cottages that make up North Carolina's Outer Banks is an intriguing area. 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 American alligators, but the bears are the easiest to find. Driving along Sawyer Lake Road in late afternoon or early morning, visitors can often see bears crossing the road as the animals head from the thick, swampy forest to feed in cornfields. 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 mama bear and her cubs.